Here’s something I know I can benefit from, and, perhaps, you can too: The Desertion of Assertion.

The dictionary on my computer defines “assertion” as a “confident or forceful statement of fact or belief,” as in: “His assertion was that his father deserted the family.”

Most often I find that my assertions fall into the opinion category. With a bit of investigation, you may find that yours do too.

My friend Jerry Stocking defines assertion this way: “An assertion is a fact about the past: most people make a lot of these and use them to protect and defend positions they have adopted.” Notice that his definition is an assertion. It will be up to you to investigate your own assertions to find out if Jerry’s statement is factually correct. My assertion is: He’s right on the money.

But why do we have to have assertions desert us?

Because defending them keeps us on the battlefield.

Whether we’re battling with others or ourself, notice the amount of assertions that fuel the war.

When you are rigid in your thinking, notice that you’re an assertion machine. Rigidity is the enemy of fluidity which is the escalator to the level where peace lives.

Begin to observe what you’re forcefully defending that you can’t prove and you’ll find yourself stuck in the assertion groove. That means the war continues and the attendant rigidity makes us assert that staying as solid as a boulder is a life preserver. That’s an assertion worth investigating.

I can only speak for me and guess about you, but I find the “desertion of assertion” removes the glue – from the opinionated Post-it© notes in our thinking, that keep us solid as a rock and keep us sinking.

All the best,

John