Communication

I recently had a loved one stop me mid-sentence and say, "We are always putting words in each others mouths.  You say I feel a certain way about something, I say you feel a certain way about something, and we come to these false conclusions for each other about how the other feels.  We need to stop.  We need to let each other finish our thoughts and quit jumping to inaccurate conclusions."

I wondered why I do this.  Then I realized we all do this.  We spend most of our lives trying to guess what other people are thinking or feeling.  Naturally, when we are conversing with them, we begin to express, "I bet you think this..." instead of letting them finish their thoughts or tell us how they truly are feeling.

I'm making a goal to be a better listener.
I'm making a goal to be a "guessing game" loser, inviting people to surprise me.

I have the feeling my silence will open my eyes more than my words ever could have.