OTHERS WANT TO SEE YOU SUCCEED, NOT FAIL
assuming others are on your side and care about your success will abate many negative thoughts about how the world views you. if you believe that people would rather see you fail than succeed, then you are forced to be suspicious, overly averse to risk, and otherwise selfconscious. with this new assumption, comments by a supervisor who may indeed have your best interests in mind are not viewed as condemnations but rather as useful mentoring. you can see immediately that if you would adopt this assumption, you would be less inclined to a hijacking the next time your boss says something about your performance.

OTHERS' INTENTIONS ARE NOT TO HARM YOU
as we master our assumption related to the motives of others, this new assumption helps us to feel trust and safety and frees us to take risks and express ourselves. you still may want to avoid dark lonely alleys late at night, but this new assumption will help you gain a healthy perspective about others.

MOST INCONSIDERATE ACTS ARE NOT AIMED AT YOU PERSONALLY
most of us give way too much credit to the motives of others. most people are not aiming their inconsiderate acts at you. instead, they simply may be misinformed, misguided, or just not paying attention, and you happen to be on the receiving end of behaviors in these situations. more people are simply thoughtless rather than motive driven in creating a bad day for you. if you hang on to the belief that motives lie behind every action, you'll spend your day trying to figure out the grand sheme when none exists.

YOU ARE WORTHY
this might be assumption worth cultivating. too ofen people experience the opposite and, therefore, assume that others think the same. low self worth can leave us feeling defensive and hurt. in the workplace, as you practice feeling worthy, you give yourself the power and freedom to perform at your top level. as long as you believe that you are not worthy, you will have difficulty acheving your full potential.

PEOPLE WILL COME THROUGH
as you shift your assumptions about other people and their performances, you will find that a shift will occur in their performances. this is partly the result of what you're expecting to find, but it's also coming from the notion that people will perform better when we believe they will. if you think objectively about the number of people that you encounter in the workplace, most do their jobs. most do come through. it's just that we may tend to focus on the times and the people who do not. this assumption is powerful for leaders and for coworkers.

IT'S PROBABLY NOT AS BAD AS I THINK
you've got that right. put your rational brain to work, and i'm sure you can come up with many scenarios that could be worse. this new assumption will get you through many difficult moments. besides, it will help you to move from your diaster-thinking to true problem-solving. if we are overcome by catastrophizing over a situation, it render our brains incapable of doing their best work.

I WILL SURVIVE
believe that, indeed, you will survive, even in the face of adversity. assuming that you are strong will make you stronger. the power behind this assumption is in knowing that your spirit is strong. we act what we believe.

TODAY WILL BE A GOOD DAY
facing each day with this assumption will statistically improve your reality. optimism may also improve life expectancy. in a five-year follow-up with patients in this heart surgery study, optimists, as compared to pessimists, were more likely to adhere to healthier habits such as using vitamins, eating less fatty foods, and enrolling in a cardiac rehabilitation program. the optimists had increased life expectancy because of these actions. therefore, thsi assumption will provide you with a new direction for your energy. why? because when you make this assumption, you suddenly have a renewed sense of how to spend your time and you enhance your sense of commitment to your tasks.

THIS IS TEMPORARY
recognizing that most problem situations are temporary makes it much easier to recover. if we believe that our distress will be forever, then coping with the problem amy seem overwhelming. assume, instead, that our problems will pass. this create an entirely different mindset regarding both the problem at hand and the future.

I HAVE POWER TO CHANGE MANY THINGS
when we assume power, our position changes from one of helplessness to one of control. sure, some things we can't control, but, for the most part, situations at work are among the things we can improve. the outcome may depend on the methods we use to intiate and execute that action, but, for the most part, people respond positively to others who take action to improve situations. career satisfaction in particular is stronger when people take responsibility for their situations. one of the traits of happy people is personal control. happy people believe they choose their own destinies.