the ladder of inference

some days being in a therapist role is helpful in my personal life. some days it's not. ususally though it really acts as a clear window with which to see myself and my life. Perspective and thankfulness. it can always be worse than it is right this very second. and i am often remineded of that in my work.
even still, home life can present challenges which intrude upon my every thought. every.
thought.

one of the more interesting things i have read in a while is material based on the ladder of inference. my boss is big into this.

"we live in a world of self generating beliefs which remain largely untested. WE adopt beliefs because they are based on conclusions, which are inferred from what we observe, plus our past experience. Our ability to achieve the results we truly desire is eroded by our feelings that:
our beliefs are the truth
the truth is obvious
our beliefs are based on real data
the data we select are the real data."

take any situation you are in. you look to those around you for feedback, and you extract feedback even when it's not given to you. a certain facial response means something specific from ron, because betty gave you the same facial response a month ago and it meant that you were wrong. when in reality, ron's facial response meant something totally differnet. in that way you've gone up the ladder of inference...and you are wrong to do so. interesting i think. i do it all the time, all the time.

but then again, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
so smoke up maestro.


(in case you couldn't tell, not a good night and day in the nate/kevin camp.)

"So I had to break the window
It just had to be
Better that I break the window
Than him or her or me"
Fiona Apple