Jumping to Conclusions: When Your Thoughts Get Ahead of Truth

We’ve all done it. A friend doesn’t text back, and suddenly we’re thinking "I must have done something wrong". Someone walks by with a scowl, and we instantly think, “They must be mad at me.”

Welcome to the very human tendency known as Jumping to Conclusions.It’s a mental shortcut that often leads us straight into anxiety, hurt feelings, and disconnection.

in science, we call this a cognitive distortion—an unhelpful thinking habit that distorts reality. And unless we catch it early, it can take us down roads that make life hard.

Two Roads We Often Take Too Quickly

Jumping to Conclusions has two main forms, fortune telling and mind reading:

1. Fortune Telling

This happens when we predict the future

• “This will never get better.”

• “I’m going to fail.”

• “Something terrible is coming, I can feel it.”

It’s our assumptions writing the story of what hasn’t even happened yet.

2. Mind Reading

This happens when we assume we know what someone else is thinking.

We tell ourselves:

• “They think I’m annoying.”

• “He’s disappointed in me.”

• “They’re talking about me behind my back.”

  
  

But here’s the problem: When we assume facts about someone else, we bypass truth and short-circuit relationships.

When False Thoughts Feel Real

Jumping to conclusions is common. It’s even understandable. But when it becomes the dominant way we interpret the world—when it leads to fear, withdrawal, or shame—it begins to do real damage.

It feeds anxiety. It isolates us.And it whispers the same old lie from the Garden: “You can’t trust God. You have to figure this out yourself.”

But Scripture offers us a better way.

God’s Word on Our Thought Life

Throughout the Bible, we are warned to be careful with our thoughts:

• “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:5

• “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5

• “The heart is deceitful above all things…” – Jeremiah 17:9

Our thoughts are powerful—but they are not always reliable.This is why Scripture calls us to measure every thought against the truth of God’s Word.

Ruth Bell Graham once told a story that brings this home.At a dinner party, she asked a government official how he could spot counterfeit money. He replied, “I don’t study the counterfeits. I study the original so thoroughly that a counterfeit is easy to spot.” Ruth wisely applied this to scripture: When we study the truth deeply, lies become easier to spot.

Tools That Help Us Catch the Lies

Thankfully, we don’t have to stay stuck in unhealthy thought patterns. God gives us truth, and therapy offers practical tools that help us live it out. Here are a few CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) tools that blend beautifully with biblical wisdom:

The Survey Technique

Instead of assuming what others think—ask them, gently, directly, and in love. This not only builds connection, it reveals how often our assumptions are wrong.

Examining the Evidence

Write down your worry. Then draw a line down the paper:

• On one side, list evidence for your thought.

• On the other, list evidence against it.

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Now ask:

• What’s the worst-case scenario?

• What’s the best case?

• What’s most likely?

Finish with a balanced truth, like:“Even though I feel nervous, there’s no clear evidence that something is wrong. I can handle this with God’s help.”

Externalizing the Voices

Consider your fear as an external voice, its own person. Now in your empowered voice, answer back with wisdom and truth. This tool helps separate you from the thought—so you can speak truth over it instead of agreeing with it.

The Experimental Technique

Afraid of failing? Worried people don’t care?

Test it out.Take small steps of faith. Try. Reach out. Speak up.

Most of the time, reality will prove much kinder than fear predicted.

An Action Plan for Your Thought Life

This week, try these steps to interrupt the cycle of Jumping to Conclusions:

1. Pause when a strong emotion hits. - Ask: What thought just went through my mind?

2. Name the distortion. - Is it fortune telling? Mind reading? Something else?

3. Challenge it with truth.- Use the Survey Technique or Examine the Evidence to ground your thinking.

4. Speak truth out loud. - Scripture has power. Use it. Say it. Claim it. Let it shape your thoughts.

Final Encouragement

Friend, God did not equip us humans to predict the future or read someone else’s mind. He just asks us to trust Him.To walk in faith, not fear.To lean into truth, not assumptions.

At Still Waters Counseling, we believe your thought life matters.Not just because it affects your feelings and relationships—but because it’s part of your spiritual walk.

If your thoughts have been leading you down paths you's prefer not to be on, we’d love to help you find another way.

Let’s stop letting untruths write the story—and invite truth in instead.

The Lagniappe

A short video of a therapist using CBT to help a client with Mind Reading

*A video of Dr David Burns teaching about Jumping to Conclusions.

*A quick note on the video above—just my personal opinion:

Dr. David Burns is a gifted CBT teacher and has helped many through his work. However, I was uncomfortable with his reference to CBT as “the gospel.” While CBT is a valuable tool, the Gospel refers only to the message of Jesus Christ. Nothing compares to that truth.

Always be discerning—no matter how helpful a teacher may be, weigh every message against the truth of Scripture.