Every genealogist has had that moment when they’ve made a big discovery. The following excitement often motivates the researcher to immediately continue to the research. That’s not always the best idea. The thought that “I’ve solved it,” can cause us to overlook inconsistent pieces of information, new pieces of information, etc. Our euphoria at having figured it out can sometimes blind us to relevant information that doesn’t fit. It can also cause us to overlook key clues or jump to additional conclusions that aren’t supported by the information we’ve located.
And like Charlie the dog in the picture, we may be a little out of focus when we are excited. That’s not always the best time to immediately research.
After the information has been saved, printed/downloaded, copied, and filed it may be time to do something else for a little while and let the discovery simmer in the recesses of our mind. Doing something non-genealogy related for a short time can allow us to come back to the information when the excitement has worn off.
It’s all right if our excitement allows us to jump for joy. We just don’t want to jump to conclusions in that same excitement.
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