We all know clients, adversaries, co-counsel or judges who have a reputation for having strong and sometimes challenging personalities. This affirmation reminds us to approach each of these individuals with the expectation that we will interact with their best self. This means, that when we encounter these individuals, we will have an expectation of a positive experience free of stress, disagreements or misunderstandings.
This is not because anything magical has happened, but because you approached that individual with a positive expectation that behind all the horror stories and personality quips, there is a genuinely kind and good person waiting to interact with you. This won’t happen all of the time, but you’d be surprised how much a good attitude will unlock the same in another person. And if it does not, you will surprised at how little that person’s actions bother you because you know that their behavior has absolutely nothing to do with you.
