What’s your first guess about why today’s post is titled “First guess, best guess”? Let’s find out if it’s the best guess.
Since the first day I met my best friend/husband Michael, he’s been saying, “First guess, best guess.”
One of my other best friends wrote to me the other day, when I felt insecure about how I had run a board meeting: “I’m not sure 2nd guessing is helpful.”
Is it your first guess, best guess that both those pieces of advice — “First guess, best guess” and “I’m not sure 2nd guessing is helpful” — mean the same thing?
I love guessing and I don’t stop with my first guess. If I DID stop with my first guess, our ailing and adorable cat Oscar would not be alive today. Also, Michael’s first guess was that the Social Security office had his correct birthday on file and they did NOT. My next guess about filing our taxes is that we’ll have to do that by mail, which is not exactly a catastrophe (although my first guess — when the IRS rejected our e-filing this weekend because Michael’s birthday on the form did not match Social Security’s record — was that it WAS a catastrophe).
Catastrophizing is a common cognitive distortion (which we talk about in my Coping and Healing groups) where our first guess is that a catastrophe is imminent, even though it isn’t.
Since catastrophizing is a first guess, not best guess, I’m now guessing that “first guess, best guess” is not always best.
However, my first guess about Michael, when I first met him on okCupid, was that he was a wonderful person I wanted in my life. I’ve had similar first guess, best guesses about other people, including the other best friend I quoted above.
My best guess about guesses, here and now, is that it’s best to trust our intuition AND also be open to new evidence that comes along.
What’s your first guess, best guess about what’s next in this blog post?
If you guessed photos, your first guess was the best!
In today’s Daily Bitch Calendar, auto-correct’s first guess was not the best guess.
This is the first song I heard by The Guess Who, which I think is their best:
My first guess was that the title of that song was “She’s Come Undone” but my best guess is that it is “Undun.”
My first guess, best guess is that there will be great comments about today’s post.
First guess, best guess, constant guess is to express gratitude every day.
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 
Normally I would say Michael’s view is the correct one. It also seems to work with photography. Follow-up shots are rarely an improvement on the first, I find.
Thanks for being the first to share your first and best thoughts about this, Derrick.
First guess, best guess. The reason we euthanize animals is because we domesticated them, Otherwise, they would be walking away to die off in the woods, just like the wolf, the panther, etc.. The natural death of a domesticated dog or cat takes courage though. They not only stagger, they go through all the stages: shortness of breath, etc, and you MUST leave them alone. A natural death at home is not a cruel act if that’s what you decided as a family. Euthanasia speeds up the process.
There’s even an organization which has written on this subject: (https://bit.ly/2AHTZVe).
Thanks for being the first to share that very helpful information, Maria.
They don’t let you in on much unless you buy their publications, but I found this link a bit more interesting: (https://bit.ly/3f8OA8E)
First guess, best guess works for me. My initial analysis of a person, when first meeting them, has always proved to be pretty accurate, apart from those odd 725 cases!
You are the BEST, my friend.
I guess everything would turn out well for you, my dear friend. ♡(ŐωŐ人)
My first guess and best guess about you, NBC, is that you are my dear friend! ❤ ❤
Vice versa, my dear friend ♡(.◜ω◝.)♡
I guess that must be pretty aggravating with the IRS. I hope it will all get resolved soon. Have a nice day, Ann
Your empathy and hope is the best!
My best guess would be that educated guesses are always best, but I also guess I could be wrong about that.
I guess you’re right, my friend.
Me and guessess don’t mix well although I do at times make educated guessess at times but even that is hit and miss
Your comments always mix well here, my friend.
my first guess is that your posts are always inspiriting, and I am never proven wrong. in other situations, my first guess has not been my best, as I’ve learned from experience. my approach is now ‘best guess’ and this is the one where I try to really do my best in the situation, or with a decision. p.s. I love that song and have it my music song loop for when I’m walking.
you are the best, beth! ❤
I like your idea of trusting your instincts and being open to new evidence. There’s probably a category of things first guess, best guess applies to. What is that cylindrical stripy structure? A water tower? I like the stripes.
I like your ideas too, Lisa. Your first guess about the cylindrical stripy structure was a good one, but here’s the real story about the largest copyrighted work of art in the world:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Swash
Oh my. Well it doesn’t have rainbows on it anymore and I like like the stripes better.
Pingback: Day 2783: Does worry help? | The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally
We all become undun every now and again, Ann.
I love what you’ve dun here, my friend.
I agree with Christopher who wrote, “An educated guess is the best guess.” And I could be wrong about that, too.
Can you guess that I love your comments, Jan?
I somehow missed replying to this post yesterday even though I read it. I can’t even guess why! Maybe it’s because I am having difficulty logging in on some of my devices. Maybe it’s because I never seem to sleep and so I’ve started dreaming that I’ve done things that I haven’t yet done. But I did actually cook supper for my family tonight. So, that’s done!
I guess I missed this comment, Maureen, probably because I’ve been having trouble sleeping too! ❤