Healthy Habits – Assume The Best of Others
The Fulling team is watching Healthy Habits by Marcus “Goodie” Goodloe. We recently started the first video session, Assume The Best of Others.
“We all want to see our dreams become a reality, but many of us don’t realize how our everyday habits are the key to either making progress or becoming stuck in a rut. So what can we do to identify and establish good habits while ridding ourselves of patterns that keep us from relationally, spiritually, and emotionally thriving? Join bestselling author Marcus ”Goodie“ Goodloe in this six-session series as he guides us through the six steps to achieving life-changing practices.”
It is difficult to know a person’s motivations, so we are often left to assume why they make decisions. Sadly, that often leads us to think people are worse than they are.
Often our actions are the only way people can judge us. But, if we were honest, we would hope that people would give us the benefit of the doubt when we mess up.
Our perspective of others is often rooted in our expectations. If we assume someone doesn’t like us, we will assume all of their actions are rooted in their distaste for us. People are rarely who we expect them to be and placing unfair expectations on others keeps them from being able to show us who they truly are.
Goodie taught us a good rule for assumptions: withhold judgment until we objectively know a person’s intention. Just because we have had conflict with a person in the past does not mean that every interaction with them has to be about conflict.
Goodie ended the session by charging us to be intentional and curious with people. When we stop making negative assumptions, we can become curious, encountering the true person behind our uninformed ideas about them.
Food for Thought
Would you consider yourself someone who sees the best in people right away? Why or why not?
What check could you create for yourself that would remind you to withhold judgment?
What could it look like for you to choose curiosity with a person you are in conflict with?