Cup of Inspiration

Today is the day to walk under a ladder, open an umbrella indoors, and pet that black cat in your path (after stepping on the crack in the sidewalk.) Today, September 13^th, we defy superstitions.

Every culture has superstitions. They are not based on facts, just what we have been told will happen if we follow certain actions. There are some that may not be a bad idea to follow, but not for the reason that people have told you. Walking under a ladder is not going to bring you bad luck, but you don’t need to risk knocking it out from under the person using it. Black cats can be quite sweet, but reaching out to one may result in a scratch from a scared cat not sure of your intentions. Stepping on a crack in a sidewalk won’t break your mother’s back but could cause you to twist your ankle.

Before we follow the advice of others, do check out the source. Is the advice coming from a true expert or someone who is just passing along what they have heard without verifying anything? If you are looking for a job, before jumping into a particular career direction, have you done your research and basing your decision on facts, or are you basing it on some article that said you could make a lot of money quickly? If you have a business and are looking at pursuing some trend, have you researched to see if this is a lasting trend or just a passing fad that could result in steering you away from your customer base?

People will hold on to superstitions because they’re afraid they could be true, even though there is no evidence. They may see someone have a bad day after a black cat crosses their path, so they jump to conclusions that black cats bring bad luck. If they had looked at things further, they might see the person was already having a bad day. They might see that the black cat just happened to be there. Jumping to conclusions can help lead to false beliefs.

In our professional lives, we read and hear about trends and norms. It’s possible some of the advice held true at one time, but no longer applies in the 21^st century. Times do change. For example, at one time many workers remained at one company throughout their career, but times have changed and now more workers change jobs, even careers, more often. Job change isn’t viewed as negatively as it was years ago. You will read articles saying remote work is the way to go, because all workers want remote work. You can find other articles saying remote work is the worst thing that can happen to a workplace, because the workers are disconnected. Rather than just blindly following advice from an article, perhaps as a leader you should do your research. Check in with your people, look at the facts. Don’t use rumors of what others are saying, look at the facts before you when making decisions.

Superstitions can be funny, but they can also cause people to hold false beliefs due to fear. Jumping to conclusions rather than looking at facts can cause you to make decisions based on fear or old beliefs rather than present reality.