{"id":21312,"date":"2025-07-23T23:02:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T05:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/americas-favorite-exercise\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:05:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:05:44","slug":"americas-favorite-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/americas-favorite-exercise\/","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s favorite exercise?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ron
Ron Price<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We hear a lot about the importance of exercise for physical, mental, and emotional health. And I wholeheartedly agree, except for one all too common form of exercise I\u2019d advise you to avoid. That would be: \u201cjumping\u201d to conclusions.<\/p>\n

OK, forgive the wordplay, but you have to admit, it\u2019s a common habit. We see or hear something, fill in the blanks with our own assumptions, and often create stories that aren\u2019t even close to reality. We all do it. And left unchecked, it can damage relationships, fuel resentment, and increase unnecessary stress.<\/p>\n

None of us truly knows what\u2019s going on in another person\u2019s mind. But that doesn\u2019t stop us from assuming we do. We see a behavior and assign a meaning to it, sometimes even a motive. And the kicker? We\u2019re usually wrong.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019re in Walmart. You spot a friend, smile, and greet them \u2026 and they walk right by without acknowledging you. What pops into your mind? \u201cDid I offend them?\u201d \u201cThey must be stuck up.\u201d \u201cWell, I won\u2019t say hi next time!\u201d Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

Chances are, they didn\u2019t see you. They may have been lost in thought, overwhelmed, or focused on something that had nothing to do with you. But because we\u2019re so quick to take things personally, we interpret their behavior as intentional, when most often, it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, I heard Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry speak at the Four Corners Conference for Professional Development. He shared that the average person has 60,000 thoughts a day. I\u2019ve seen some estimates go even higher, but the point is our minds are constantly busy.<\/p>\n

Of those 60,000 thoughts, 95% are believed to be inaccurate. Think about that. Most are recycled worries about the past, fear-based guesses about the future, or flat-out wrong assumptions in the present.<\/p>\n

Not exactly encouraging, right? But it is eye-opening. And it reminds us how important it is to pause, before we react, especially when it comes to what we assume about others.<\/p>\n

So what can we do instead?<\/p>\n

Let me offer two simple tools that can greatly improve your relationships:<\/p>\n

1. Practice AGI \u2013 Assume Good Intent.<\/div>\n

I write about this in PLAY NICE in Your Sandbox at Work. The idea is simple: when someone does something that upsets you, stop and ask yourself, \u201cWhat\u2019s the best possible reason they might have done that?\u201d In most cases, you\u2019ll come up with several possibilities that don\u2019t involve malice or ill intent. This mental shift can reduce anger and help you respond with grace rather than defensiveness.<\/p>\n

We used to say \u201cgive someone the benefit of the doubt.\u201d Sadly, today it seems we\u2019re more likely to give them the benefit of the \u201cblame.\u201d But trust me on this, blame and assumption are not relationship enhancers.<\/p>\n

2. Be an Inverse Paranoid<\/div>\n

I can\u2019t recall where I first heard this, but I\u2019ve loved the idea ever since. A paranoid assumes everyone is out to get them. An inverse paranoid believes everyone is out to do them good. Is it always true? Probably not. But it\u2019s a far more peaceful and hopeful way to go through life.<\/p>\n

Why not give AGW and inverse paranoia a try? We\u2019ve all had people make unfair or unkind assumptions about us. And let\u2019s be honest, it doesn\u2019t feel great. So why keep doing mental gymnastics that wear you out and damage your relationships? These two small mindset shifts might not burn calories, but they will lighten your emotional load and help you connect with others in a healthier way. Seems to me that\u2019s a workout worth doing. What say you?<\/p>\n

Ron Price, who has a master\u2019s degree in counseling from the University of New Mexico, is author of the \u201cPlay Nice in Your Sandbox\u201d book series and creator of the CPR Mastery video course. He is available for workshops and staff training. Contact Ron at ron@ronprice.com<\/a> and (505) 324-6328. Learn more at ronprice.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pricecca We hear a lot about the importance of exercise for physical, mental, and emotional health. And I wholeheartedly agree, except for one all too common form of exercise I\u2019d advise you to avoid. That would be: \u201cjumping\u201d to conclusions. OK, forgive the wordplay, but you have to admit, it\u2019s a common habit. We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-21312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21312"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77256,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21312\/revisions\/77256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21312"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=21312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}