The Benefit of the Doubt

Giving people the benefit of the doubt is liberating. This is something that has really hit me this past little while. A few things happened this week that could have hurt my feelings. During these times, it just hit me that these people are not "out to get me". I was able to take a step back and realize that what was done was not to hurt my feelings. I usually do not do this well at stepping into other peoples shoes, but this time I did and I learned a big lesson. I could have wasted my time pondering on what had happened. I could have felt bad and been mad at others. But, by giving them the benefit of the doubt, I freed myself of those feelings. It was liberating. I have found that it is really easy to look into what someone says or does and take it personally. Usually, what was said or done was not meant to come across that way at all. It sure does save a lot of grief to assume that nobody is deliberately trying to be mean.