How often is the story in your head the actual truth of what’s happening?
Someone spends an entire evening quietly convinced they’ve made a terrible decision, that people aren’t having fun, that they’ve somehow ruined everything. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, everyone is simply tired from a big day and looking forward to what comes next.
That’s it. No drama. No offence taken. No relationship damage. Entirely a story built from past experiences and assumptions, with zero basis in what was actually happening.
We do this constantly. With emails, with conversations, with silence that means nothing. We bring our history into a moment that has nothing to do with it, and we make it mean something it never meant.
The fix is simpler than you think. Ask the question. Have the conversation.