Chapter 19
Anna enters the Oblonsky drawing room where Dolly knits a coverlet ...
When Anna went into the room, Dolly was sitting in the little drawing-room with a white-headed fat little boy, already like his father, giving him a lesson in French reading. As the boy read, he kept twisting and trying to tear off a button that was nearly off his jacket. His mother had several times taken his hand from it, but the fat little hand went back to the button again. His mother pulled the button off and put it in her pocket. “Keep your hands still, Grisha,” she said, and she took up her work, a coverlet she had…
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Critical Thinking Exercise
Reality-Test Your Assumptions
Think of a current situation where you're hoping for a specific outcome from someone else - a promotion, a relationship development, or social acceptance. Write down what concrete evidence you have versus what you're assuming. Then list three direct questions you could ask to verify your interpretation instead of continuing to guess.
Consider:
- •Separate what the person actually said or did from what you interpreted it to mean
- •Consider whether your desire for the outcome is making you see signals that aren't really there
- •Think about how you could get clarity without risking embarrassment or conflict
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you built expectations on assumptions that turned out to be wrong. What did that experience teach you about reading people and situations more accurately?
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