135 - Friday Fix: Why Assuming the Best in People Benefits You

The Verywell Mind Podcast

Dotdash Media Inc.

Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Mental Health, Education

5 • 703 Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2022

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

While some people say you should always give others the ‘benefit of the doubt,’ other people say doing so means you let people take advantage of you. After all, not everyone has good intentions. But assuming the best in others doesn’t have to come at your own expense. In fact, you can still assume other people are doing their best while also establishing clear boundaries with them. There’s a surprising upside of assuming the best in others; it actually lowers your stress level. But it takes some practice. You might find yourself jumping to conclusions that assume bad intentions automatically. You’ll have to put in some effort to start assuming the best in others. So on today’s Friday Fix, I explain why it’s healthy to assume the best in others, how to do it, and how to establish healthy boundaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Very Well Mind podcast. We've interviewed over 100 authors, experts, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, and others to help you learn strategies to care for your mental health.
0:22.9	This episode is hosted by psychotherapist and bestselling author Amy Morin. Now let's get into the episode.
0:45.4	Okay. You're listening to the Friday fix.
0:50.3	Every Friday, I share a quick mental strength strategy that can help fix the thoughts,
0:53.1	feelings, and actions that can hold you back in life.
0:54.9	Today I'm talking about a simple but effective mental strength strategy that can help you get through the day feeling less
0:58.9	stressed and less annoyed by the people around you. For some people, the struggle isn't necessarily
1:04.5	new. But I've heard from a lot of you who say that you're feeling more frustrated lately with
1:09.2	how impatient and rude people have
1:11.0	become since COVID.
1:13.1	When society started to open up, you might have hoped that people were going to be a little
1:17.7	more grateful to be out of the house, happy to be around each other, and that everyone would
1:22.1	be a little kinder.
1:23.8	Our experience in fighting a global pandemic together might help us treat one another with more compassion.
1:29.3	But that wasn't necessarily what happened. When people stepped out of their homes, a lot of them found that the world had grown a little more cynical and a lot less patient.
1:38.7	You might find that you too are feeling more stressed, more overwhelmed, and you might be tempted to take your frustration out on the
1:44.9	grocery store clerk, or that shopper who stands in the middle of the aisle forever trying to
1:49.5	decide which flavor of jello to buy. There are several reasons why people are short on patients
1:54.4	right now. Many people, in fact, it's probably accurate to say most people, are experiencing
2:00.7	worse mental health than usual.
2:02.6	There's a lot of stress, a high degree of uncertainty, and the news for the past two years has been horrible.
2:09.7	We've been hearing about death tools and information about how to protect ourselves, and that information has changed over time.
	...

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