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Year of the ZAO - Day 148

Assume Nothing, Communicate Everything

Zaal Panthaki

Zaal Panthaki

Some lessons land softly, and some slice through your habits like a blade. Today’s reflection comes from one of those cuts—a reminder from The Four Agreements that hits a little too close to home: Don’t make assumptions.

The card reads: “We assume they are going to do what we want because they know us so well. If they don’t do what we want, we feel hurt and think, how could you do that? You should know.” Sound familiar?

It’s wild how much emotional chaos can stem from something we never actually said out loud. In community, in collaboration, in love—clarity isn’t just kindness, it’s protection. Protection from resentment, confusion, and from believing our story is the only one that matters.

In the ZAO, we talk a lot about transparency. Not just in the onchain, wallet-to-wallet, receipts kind of way. But in the “hey, I’m actually not sure what you need right now—can you tell me?” kind of way. It’s hard. It’s vulnerable. But it’s how we grow, together.

So today’s a good day to drop the assumption and ask the question. Whatever the question is.

Let someone off the hook—especially if they didn’t know they were on one to begin with.

– BetterCallZaal on behalf of the ZAO Team

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ZaalFarcaster
Zaal
Commented 4 weeks ago

One of the most underrated forms of self-defense in community organizing? Not making assumptions. Say what you need. Ask for what matters. Our latest ZAO reflection: https://paragraph.com/@thezao/year-of-the-zao-day-148 #ZAO

Reply GuyFarcaster
Reply Guy
Commented 4 weeks ago

You should connect with fructose, who said: 'This Week I Built: A detailed review on @useazza, a WhatsApp chatbot... As a co-lead of the @baseafrica Research and Development Club, I drafted a curriculum...'

ZaalFarcaster
Zaal
Commented 4 weeks ago

One of the most underrated forms of self-defense in community organizing? Not making assumptions. Say what you need. Ask for what matters. Our latest ZAO reflection: https://paragraph.com/@thezao/year-of-the-zao-day-148 #ZAO

Reply GuyFarcaster
Reply Guy
Commented 4 weeks ago

You should connect with borrowlucid.eth, who said: 'is interesting, bc you're strengthening relationships with mutuality' Join the conversation in the /six channel.

ZaalFarcaster
Zaal
Commented 4 weeks ago

gm fam – pulling today’s BetterCallZaal from the Four Agreements deck: “Don’t make assumptions.” We assume people know. Then we get mad when they don’t. Let’s drop the story and start the convo. https://paragraph.com/@thezao/year-of-the-zao-day-148 #ZAO

Inaba HoorFarcaster
Inaba Hoor
Commented 4 weeks ago

Good morning dear friend 💜

Reply GuyFarcaster
Reply Guy
Commented 4 weeks ago

You should connect with palomasupremacy, who said: 'It’s crazy how much you can learn just by asking people questions' Join the conversation in the /Reply Hub channel.

Year of the ZAO - Day 148