Have you ever felt unjustly accused or misunderstood? Or perhaps you’ve formed premature opinions of others that aren’t based on truth. Is your co-worker stand-offish?  Maybe she’s dealing with difficult personal matters you know nothing about. Is your spouse non-talkative? Maybe he’s weighing a challenging business decision he doesn’t know how to handle. We could save ourselves a lot of relational strife if we would stop summing each other up without really knowing all the facts. It’s easy to make false assumptions and label someone wrongly which gets in the way of real love and acceptance.

You might have noticed children rarely jump to false accusations, but, they take in the facts first. They innocently offer an abundant amount of unconditional love
and acceptance. They believe the best in people.

With my spouse, friends, children and co-workers…I believe their intentions are good. Were they trying to be rude, selfish, or disrespectful? I know I come off that way sometimes, but, it wasn’t my intention to hurt them. So, shouldn’t I take a deep breath and try to understand where they are coming from?

Asking questions can be very encouraging. Try to see it from their perspective, clarify what they meant, and work at resolving the issue. If both parties extend grace, apologize when needed, and offer a heart of forgiveness it will help wipe the slate clean.

You matter. If we are to create loving homes where our family and friends feel valued and secure, then we need to get this basic principle right. It’s not as basic as we think. Fractured relationships abound. We all care about creating nurturing surroundings where our children thrive and grow up to invest in the next generation. Taking offense, or harboring it, undermines the loving environment we’re trying to create. I want you to thrive, my family to thrive, and my co-workers to thrive. Join me in assuming the best and working out the rest!

Stephanie

“Be the change that you want to see in the world.”  Mohandas Ghandi

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Stephanie Allen is Co-founder and President of Dream Dinners and a New York Times best-selling co-author of The Hour that Matters Most. Naturally a visionary and optimist, Stephanie hopes to inspire America through her nurturing voice of encouragement, assuring families…    

“You’re doing a great job!”