There’s a lot of good that comes from jumping. Jumping to catch a baseball as it’s going over the outfield wall can get you on ESPN’s SportsCenter. Jumping to get out of the way of an oncoming train can be literally life-saving. And then of course there is my personal favorite, jumping for joy. I mean, really, who doesn’t like joy?

But not all jumping is good. Some is downright bad. Perhaps none more so than jumping to conclusions.

The world was able to witness the pitfalls of jumping to conclusions in real-time recently when an attempt was made to assassinate Donald Trump. Within minutes, “experts” on social media knew exactly what happened, how it had happened, and why it had happened. One of the first accounts I read was on X, formerly known as Twitter. This “expert” declared the whole thing was fake, stating that there were no shots, no bullets, and no injuries.

Now you may find that hard to believe, but this “expert” had irrefutable proof. Their proof was that an AR-15 was likely used, and as “everyone knows” a bullet from an AR-15 that comes even within 1 foot of someone will “blow them apart.” A bullet couldn’t have just grazed someone’s ear; if it even came close to their ear, they would be gone.

How could anyone even begin to argue with “proof” like that?

That person had a preconceived notion of what happened and simply “bent” the “facts” to accommodate that notion. There was no attempt to discover any new information because that new information may challenge their thinking. They simply jumped to the conclusion they wanted.

Now before you go thinking that the person who posted that is an obvious idiot, you need to make sure that you don’t, at least at times, do the same kind of thing. Maybe not that crazy of a conclusion, but we all have the ability to “mind-bend” facts to get them to accommodate the outcome we’re hoping for.

Jumping to conclusions is very expensive for a business and very damaging to our personal lives. It’s likely you, me, and everyone else has made a decision at work that was based on a false, quickly jumped to, conclusion.

You may have also prematurely ended a relationship based on jumping to a conclusion too quickly. With too few facts and way too much emotion.

But we humans are emotional beings, and it almost seems to be human nature to jump to conclusions. So how do we control our nature and make fact-based, well-thought-out decisions that are less emotional and more logic-based?

That’s going to require that we change some habits. Habits of using facts “we just know” need to be replaced with reflective thinking and critical evaluation. Here are some ideas that can help you begin to make the necessary changes.

Gather All Information:

• Ensure you have all the relevant facts before forming an opinion. The key word there is indeed “before”.

• Seek out additional data if necessary, and avoid relying solely on initial impressions. First impressions are often incorrect, but that doesn’t make them easy to get out of your mind.

Consider Multiple Perspectives:

• Try to view the situation from different angles.

• Ask yourself how others might view the same issue and why they might hold different opinions.

Question Assumptions:

• Identify any assumptions you might be making. You know what assuming makes us, right?

• Challenge these assumptions and consider whether they are justified.

Delay Judgment:

• Give yourself time to think before making a decision.

• Avoid making snap judgments or decisions when you’re emotional or stressed. Remember, any decision made in less than 10 minutes is a snap decision.

Seek Evidence:

• Look for evidence that supports or contradicts your initial thoughts.

• Base your conclusions on concrete evidence rather than speculation or hearsay. “They” are the biggest liars in the world. “They” can never be held accountable because nobody really has a clue who “they” are. Don’t trust “they.”

Reflect on Past Experiences:

• Consider past situations where you might have jumped to conclusions and reflect on the outcomes. I’ll bet you’d like a do-over on many of them.

• Learn from these experiences to improve your decision-making process.

Engage in Critical Thinking:

• Use logic and reasoning to analyze the situation.

• Break down complex issues into smaller parts and evaluate each component systematically.

Ask Clarifying Questions:

• If you’re unsure about something, ask questions to gain clarity. Guessing and assuming make great springboards to a mistaken conclusion. Stay grounded by asking questions or doing as complete a job of research as possible.

• Don’t hesitate to seek further information from reliable sources.

Discuss with Others:

• Talk to others who might have more information or a different viewpoint. Be open to those different viewpoints and understand that even the smartest people can be wrong sometimes. That means you can be wrong sometimes too.

• Engaging in discussions can provide new insights and help you see the bigger picture.

Self-awareness:

• Recognize when you might be jumping to conclusions and take a step back to reassess. If you don’t have the facts, actual concrete facts, to support your conclusion, you may have jumped into something you shouldn’t have. Never hesitate to jump back out.

There’s a lot of discussion going on right now about “dialing down the rhetoric” and choosing our words more carefully. That’s hard to do when you’re in mid-air jumping towards a conclusion. So, think before you decide, think before you speak, and think before you risk making a fool of yourself.

Kinda sounds like thinking can solve a lot of problems. I hope that’s one conclusion we can all agree on.