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Assume the best

After leaving church recently, I pulled into traffic on my way to lunch. A mile down the road, I stopped at a traffic light. As the light turned green, I watched as the driver in front of me sat there. At first, I complained under my breath, but then I grew more vocal and complained to my passengers. Certainly, the driver of the car in front of me wasn’t paying attention — or even worse, he was intentionally stopped to prevent me from getting to lunch. As the driver finally pulled away, the road broadened, and I was able to pass the oblivious driver in the additional lanes.

As I was preparing my best scowl to show him how unhappy I was about his apparent lack of driving skill, I realized that he was a good friend from church (we’ll call him Bob). In a flash, all thoughts of ill will were gone. Certainly, Bob had a valid reason for his erratic driving. Was his wife asking him a serious question? Was he deep in thought about the church service? Had he dropped his cell phone behind his seat? It didn’t really matter because in that moment, I had gone from assuming the worst about the wayward driver to assuming the best about my friend. Why was this so?

Let me start by saying I’m ashamed this happened to me at all — but even more so that it happened as I was leaving church. Second, my attitude completely changed toward the driver in the slow-moving car for one simple reason: trust. I trust Bob because I have a relationship with him. I know that he’s a good person who would never intentionally hurt someone else. Bob is generous, caring and friendly, the exact qualities you’d want in a friend.

As I’ve thought about this incident over the past few months, I’ve come to another conclusion as well. Most people are like my friend, Bob. Most people are hard-working, honest and generous people who are going through life with no malice toward anyone. If we feel slighted by someone as we go about our daily activities, it is almost never intentional. If someone doesn’t act friendly, they may just be having a bad day. Instead of getting sour, be the bright spot in their day.

Assume the best — about everyone. This applies to business and personal interactions. Not only will it improve your relationships, but it will improve you. You will become a happier person to be around.


Need help with your marketing strategy? Give Ryan Giles a call. Giles is a CEO, professional EOS implementer, coach and author. He can be reached at Ryan@TractionStrong.com or (504) 500-1640.