She was amazing at integrating life’s greatest lessons into ways even a busy, somewhat stubborn high school teenager could learn from. And as an adult, I have realized again and again just how much she taught me in three short years that helped me become who I am today.

Have you ever sat back and realized where your best lessons on life originated? For me, one of those life lessons was something that didn’t stick with me until very recently (20-plus years later) – assume the best intentions. My grandmother would tell me this when I would get upset with my parents, sisters, friends, teammates, or my boss at work – she never wavered. I felt like she was on repeat, and I honestly ignored it. Little did I know that a lesson she tried to teach me starting at age 16 would resurface in my late 30s. I also never put together that something so simple, like assuming the best intentions of others, could have helped my grandmother become a wise, successful and well-respected leader in her community (but it did). It’s now my motto, and I’ve been working hard over the last six months to live and breathe it daily.

Why is this advice from my grandmother the best advice for all of us? It’s simple: It doesn’t matter our age, gender, experience or title — we all have an opportunity to live life assuming the best intentions of others. If we think about how we live our daily lives, we communicate with others multiple times a day and what we think, say and do determines the next series of events. Depending on these things — what we think, say and do — can set in motion something beautiful or something awful.

Have you ever had a meeting with a boss or a co-worker where you left feeling attacked, singled out or just plain small? We can often let assumptions or even our egos get the best of us when in reality, the feeling you have may exist because you aren’t assuming the best of intentions of the other person.

We live in a world where we’ve developed implicit bias (the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions and decisions in an unconscious manner), assume the worst, believe that there are few truly good people out there, and maybe sometimes feel like everything is or should be about us. The reality is: There are good people, not everything is about us, people are different from one another (and that’s beautiful), and we should always assume the best in someone. People will surprise you, and you might just surprise yourself.

Let me be the first to admit that even though it’s something I’ve been striving to live by for the last six months, it’s not been an easy task. We are faced with the opportunity to assume the best of intentions at our job, our home, through our volunteer work, and much more. We have the choice to lead the way and not only assume the best for ourselves, but to model it for others. It takes work. It takes dedication. But for what it’s worth, it’s been an inspiring six months. Thankfully for me, I had someone model the way for me.

What will you to do today to assume the best in someone?

Brianne Fitzgeraldis the communications and engagement officer with Volunteer Iowa, a government agency that works to improve lives, strengthen communities and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. She was honored in 2015 as the winner of the YPC Amy Jennings Impact Award, and recognized as a Business Record Forty Under 40 in 2016. Fitzgerald is active as a volunteer for Simpson College, serving on both the Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Multimedia Communication Advisory Board. She is the Community Leadership Program Project chair-elect on the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute Board of Governors, and is the chair of the Youth Leadership Initiative. She is a mother of three.