Lesson #436: Don’t anticipate another person’s word and fill in the blank for them prematurely. You are bound to have guessed incorrectly. You are bound to have guessed something more negative than what s/he intended to say in the first place.

(Although I have been learning this lesson left and right lately, I can’t think of any real-life examples. So, enjoy my extreme examples instead.)

Jooji: “I got my haircut and I think I look…”

Lesson learner: “uglier?”

Jooji: “No, actually, I was going to say thinner.”

Or…

Screech: “I had this odd feeling about the villain in that movie…”

Lesson learner: “Oh, I bet you felt like you could relate to him, huh?”

Screech: “No, actually, he reminded me of the next door neighbor’s cat who nibbled up my pet mouse.”