“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” -Mother Theresa

When you make a moral judgment on someone else, you assume you know their intentions, known as theory of mind. It’s identified as a theory because you can’t possibly know what’s going on in another person’s head.

Even if you feel certain someone intends to be cruel, thoughtless, insensitive, or selfish, you can’t know for sure–which means you’re essentially making a choice to believe what you want to believe. You’re deciding to assume the worst, maybe to protect yourself. Maybe because it’s easier than the alternative.

The alternative–believing the best–is what we all want for ourselves.

When you say something insensitive, you want people to know you didn’t mean it that. When you make a mistake, you want people to know you meant well.

Give that love to the people around you. Hear what they mean. See their potential. Understand their challenges. The world is a far more beautiful place when we stop assuming the worst and instead help each other be our best.