"STRONGER TOGETHER" is a weekly column where Tanya explores key issues. This week Tanya discusses how adopting a scientific mindset of curiosity and adaptability can help us navigate life more effectively by challenging our assumptions and remaining open to new ideas and experiences.
By IMPACT Community Services Managing Director Tanya O'Shea
In our daily lives, we often operate under a set of assumptions and hypotheses shaped by our upbringing, societal norms, family expectations, and personal experiences. These assumptions can range from how we believe people should behave to what we expect our lives to look like.
While these mental frameworks can provide a sense of stability and predictability, they can also lead to a fixed mindset, limiting our openness to new ideas and experiences.
Consider the assumptions we make about others. For instance, you might believe that a colleague should always be punctual, so when this colleague arrives late, it can be easy to feel frustrated or disappointed.
However, rather than rigidly adhering to this expectation, it's important to remain open and compassionate. What if this person had a personal crisis before work or was involved in a car accident? By considering these possibilities, we can respond with understanding and empathy, rather than judgment.
Similarly, societal and familial expectations can heavily influence our life choices. From a young age, we are often influenced by both implicit and explicit messages about what defines success, happiness, and fulfillment—such as finishing school, going to university or getting a trade, securing a full-time job, getting married, buying a house, and having children.
These messages can shape our career paths, relationships, and even our self-worth. Adhering too strictly to these external expectations, however, can prevent us from exploring alternative paths that might be more aligned with our true selves.
Intrinsically, it can also manifest into feelings of inadequacy, increased stress, and even result in symptoms associated with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. By being overly focused on meeting others’ expectations, we may neglect our own needs and desires, leading to a diminished sense of self-worth and overall wellbeing.
To navigate life more effectively, it can be helpful to adopt a mindset akin to that of a scientist, who develops and tests hypotheses with an open mind, formulating assumptions based on initial observations, before carefully undertaking an experiment and analysing the collated data.
When the results do not align with their initial assumptions, they report their findings, continuing to refine their theories to better reflect reality. This approach demonstrates a genuine willingness to adjust their understanding based on new evidence.
This iterative process of hypothesising, testing and adjusting can also be a valuable model for our personal lives. Applying this approach may help us to be more open and appreciate that often our assumptions are simply flexible guardrails rather than rigid beliefs that require validation or support by others.
Perhaps you followed a particular career path because it was revered by family, and you thought it would bring you happiness - but it doesn’t. Being open to new opportunities may create purpose and lead you to more fulfilling opportunities.
So, while assumptions and hypotheses are a natural part of human cognition, it’s essential to embrace a mindset of curiosity and adaptability.
Just as scientists refine their theories based on new evidence, we too can benefit from remaining open-minded and flexible in our thinking. By adopting this approach, we can better navigate the complexities of our world, leading to a more fulfilling, and purpose-driven life.