Geez, would things be easier if we all assumed good intentions from the people around us! There is so much energy, time and money wasted because it seems that most people assume BAD intentions. We jump straight to the worst case scenario about why a series of events transpired or why a set of decisions were made. It HAD to be that they were out to screw me over, right? They wanted me to fail! They’re trying to get my job/customer/parking space!

What a waste! I’ve found that it’s the very rare case indeed where someone truly intended something bad to happen. Mostly, people are stumbling along doing the best they can, and wanting to do good things in the world, or at least do no harm. We need to change the script of the stories we create in our heads about why people do things. Right now, the scripts are overwhelmingly negative and the personal and professional costs are astronomical. On the flip side, what Joann Barsh at McKinsey found in her research about remarkable female leaders was that they practiced positive framing. In other words, one of the 5 key practices of very successful women included assuming good intentions. How about that!

I ran across this blog post by Jason Ivers that lists the reasons assuming good intentions helps you. I would add the instead of being angry, suspicious and on edge, assuming good intentions allows you to approach your work and life with a sense of curiosity and joy. Everything from how you interpret the email in your in-box to how you react to getting cut off in traffic changes.  It really is amazing! Making the shift is simple and profound. It also takes diligence. The media, our hard-wiring, the people around us are all like crabs in a bucket trying to pull us back in when we frame the world in a different way. Once you’ve made the shift though, it becomes easier and easier to stay in good intentions mode, and more obvious when you don’t. It’s a lot more fun on the sunny side of the street!