Welcome to the very first Your Weekly Assumption! Each week I’ll hand you one assumption to carry around for seven days, like a little pocket stone, except it’s a sentence and it won’t wear a hole in your jeans. You’ll also get a short scene, something to try during the day, and a line to come back to when doubt starts yelling.
This week’s theme is everyday life, because let’s be honest, that’s where most of us live. Not on a mountaintop, but in traffic, in the kitchen, and in the line at the grocery store that always seems to be the slowest one.
This Week’s Assumption
I am calm, and my day flows easily.
Say it like it’s already true, because that’s the whole trick. You’re not trying to become calm. You’re assuming you already are, and letting your day catch up. Your day is a bit slow, but it’ll get there.
A Short Scene to Step Into
Picture yourself first thing in the morning with something warm in your hands. Coffee, tea or hot chocolate. I don’t judge. Nothing is chasing you. Nobody needs anything yet. You look ahead at your day and think, “Oh, this is going to go smoothly.”
Now keep going and imagine your day from the inside, not like you’re watching it on a screen. You stroll into work feeling rested, which is already suspicious. Your hair is behaving. Your outfit is working. You sit down at your desk and glance over at the person in the next cubicle, who looks like they’ve been wrestling the printer since dawn. Around noon, you notice they’re eating a sad desk lunch, something beige, possibly a granola bar and a single carrot, while you tuck into something delicious.
You feel a small, perfectly harmless wave of smugness. You look GOOD! You are calm. Your inbox is not a threat. You take a sip of your coffee and think, “Yes, this is my day, and it’s going very well.”
Feel your shoulders drop away from your ears, where they’ve probably been living. Feel your breathing slow down. Stay there for a minute or two, until it feels like something you do every morning.
Your Prompt for the Day
Pick one moment today that usually makes you tense. The commute, the 3 p.m. work slump, getting dinner on the table while everyone asks what’s for dinner. Before it starts, take one breath and tell yourself, “I am calm, and this flows easily.” Then go through it as the calm person you’ve assumed you are.
Afterward, notice whether anything felt different. It might be small. Maybe you didn’t sigh at the red light. That counts.
For Wobbly Moments
Some moments will not cooperate. The printer will jam, the toast will burn, someone will reply-all. When doubt creeps in, don’t argue with the evidence. Just come back to the feeling and say: “I am calm, and my day flows easily.”
Then maybe go rescue the toast.
More Everyday Assumptions to Try
If you’d like to keep going with this theme, here are a few more you can try alongside this one or in the weeks ahead:
- Things always work out for me.
- I am organized, rested, and on top of things.
- I am surrounded by supportive people.
Yes, “rested” is on that list. I know. Assume it anyway.
See You Next Week
Try this one for seven days and see what shifts. Next week I’ll bring you another assumption. Come back and tell me how this week went, especially if the toast survived.