Caution: False Assumptions:

Our assumptions become the foundations on which we base our actions and build our lives...

You might have heard about a man named Hannibal of Carthage. Like many Carthaginians, Hannibal hated Romans with a passion. One day, some of Hannibal's advisors convinced him that elephants were the perfect war animal. They told him, "The more elephants you have, the better off you will be!" What Hannibal didn't know was that most of the time, elephants got spooked during a battle and trampled their riders. If history had taught one thing about elephants, it was not to use them to win a war.

However, Hannibal dismissed that fact and kept accumulating more and more elephants to defeat the Romans. As you might suspect, it didn't work very well. However, Hannibal refused to notice that he'd be much better off without elephants. He took 38 elephants over the Alps. The elephants made it just fine, but half of the army fell off the Alps!

In one of his last battles, Hannibal assembled more than 80 elephants. However, in battle they all turned and tramped his own men. I guess once you assume that elephants will win your battles, you will always want more elephants.

This is how false assumptions undermine us. Like Hannibal's elephants, they get stuck in our minds, and we can't shake free of them - even when they are trampling everything important to us. We spend our lives with these false assumptions, build on them like solid foundations, and our hopes and dreams are trampled, one after the next.

Consider a few common examples:

If your assumption in life is, "I'm unlovable", imagine what you'd go through trying to "earn" your value by proving you deserve a place in the world. What kind of life would you create?

Here's another: "My value is determined by what I own." Think of all you would waste to prove it! How much could you lose by trying to determine your value through nothing but material gain?

Let's not forget this common assumption: "People should always do what I want them to." Wow, that one has unhappiness built right into it, because people are not always going to do what you want them to do. There goes a good slice of your peace of mind!

How about this one: "I have to be perfect or I'll never be acceptable." Can you imagine how you would spend your life trying to be perfect - an impossibility for humans - in order to be acceptable? Imagine the life you would build on such a cracked and false assumption.

And one more: "People have value and importance only insofar as they are useful to me." Can you imagine how tired and lonely you would become by carrying that philosophy around?

Ask yourself these questions:

• What are the assumptions on which I base my life?
• What am I doing to follow those assumptions?
• What am I giving up or gaining by following those assumptions?
• Are my assumptions a sturdy foundation for my life?
• What are the true assumptions upon which I need to build my hopes, dreams, and plans?

Imagine the life you would build if you assumed that you are a unique, lovable, and valuable creation of God - that you have talents to use as only you can use them?

When we build our lives on true assumptions, we live with authentic joy. True assumptions lead us to invest our resources wisely so that we can enjoy the rewards of our efforts. True assumptions recognize our inherent worth. They honor the authentic love which our Creator has for us without our need to earn it.

Recognize and shake free of any false assumptions today, and you will have the freedom to love, create, grow, and prosper with much joy!

Wishing you blessings and success!

© Copyright 2011 by Steve Brunkhorst. All rights reserved worldwide. Steve is a professional strategies coach, inspirational writer, and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration. Find many resources for achievement by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com.