Positive Assumptions: A Day Full of Lessons

Today, for reasons I cannot fully explain, the HUB I joined felt unusually slow. It was as if the world itself was signaling that the economy is in a downturn—consumer purchasing power appears to be weakening, and orders came in at a trickle.

With so much idle time, I managed to watch Iron Man parts 1 through 3 while waiting for tasks to come in. At the very least, I tried to keep my mind engaged to avoid mental stagnation.

Initially, I assumed the connectivity issues were due to a depleted data quota. So, I decided to purchase a larger data package to eliminate that potential excuse. However, the stream of orders remained sparse.

Later, I encountered an unpleasant experience: a customer was difficult to reach by phone, so I opted to leave their package at the doorstep. Unfortunately, they rated my service poorly. For the first time, my performance rating dropped to 4.98. I was slightly disheartened, but I chose to keep that disappointment to myself.

The day did not let up. On my way home, the front tire of my motorcycle went flat. It felt like nothing was going my way. To add to the frustration, the electricity bill alarm on my phone went off, nearly pushing me to the verge of tears.

Yet, in the final moments of my shift, I received an order that changed everything.

A mother reached out via chat, requesting help in purchasing baby formula and diapers, complete with photo references. I was close to declining the task, wary of customer expectations and the impact of even minor errors on my ratings. But the real issue was financial—earlier that day, I had replaced my tire and sent money to my younger brother, Nasir, and my fiancée, Haida. I didn’t have enough cash on hand to fulfill the order.

When I arrived at the customer's location, I discovered that she had just given birth. I was moved by her condition and offered, “Bu, would you like me to accompany you to Alfa?” She agreed. I waited for nearly 10 minutes, thinking she might have changed her mind. But eventually, she came out, carrying her newborn.

I gave her and her baby a careful ride to the store. We shopped together, and I made sure they returned safely. In that moment, I realized that perhaps she was going through everything alone—maybe her husband was on a night shift, or perhaps there was simply no one else to help her..That was when my heart softened.

After assisting her, all my frustrations, disappointments, and fatigue from earlier in the day seemed to vanish.

Sometimes, helping someone isn't about money. Offering our time and effort can mean the world to those in need.

Today, I learned that positive assumptions often lead us to deeper meaning.