Defaulting to good intent
What do you do
...when someone misses an appointment?
…when someone cuts you off in traffic?
…when someone is being careless?
Do you assume the worst—that this person is belligerent, stupid or dishonest? When they tell you their story--why they acted that way—do you try to assess whether you believe them, or if their explanation warrants concern or care?
Or—and it’s a very big or—do you simply give them the benefit of the doubt. Or at least consider the possibility that maybe:
they made an honest mistake
it’s an emergency, or
they’re having a really bad day
It seems to me that regularly giving people a second chance is a far better approach to live by than assuming and looking for the worst in people, all the time.
Because, frankly, it doesn’t matter if you’re right or you’re wrong. It doesn’t matter if the people you come across are negligent or unprincipled or just plain human.
What matters is the story you tell yourself. How it makes you feel. And all the possibilities—the opportunities—that can only happen when you’re willing to invariably give people the benefit of the doubt.