Two Cents

Giving someone the benefit of the doubt can save you from unnecessary stress.

I was at the grocery store the other day and the woman that was at the front of the line was paying for her items. She handed the clerk her dollars and said that she thought she had the two pennies that would allow the clerk to give to give her whole dollars back. She proceeded to rummage through her wallet and then got distracted by the child anxiously pulling on her shirt. The clerk handed her the change and she started to turn to go. At this point the clerk said, in a rather offended tone, "you still owe me two cents." The woman shook away the child and placed the two pennies on the counter, apologizing for forgetting and telling the clerk it was because she was in a rush. He took the pennies and she left.

If that had been the end of it then the story wouldn't be remarkable in any way; a simple transaction completed.

However, the clerk immediately began to grouse about the woman forgetting to give him the two cents saying things like, "Sure you were in a hurry. She thought she would get away without having to pay. I can't believe some people," and on and on through the next two customers. When I had finished my transaction the clerk was still complaining to the bagboy about the woman and her two cents.

Because, for whatever reason, this clerk could not bring himself to give the woman the benefit of the doubt, he spent at least 15 minutes creating more stress for himself. If he had simply believed her and said something like, "it happens," once she had left he would have had more pleasant interactions with the customers that followed.

All that stress over two cents.

How many times in our lives do we deny someone the benefit of the doubt for no good reason or over something that is as inconsequential as two cents? The next time you catch yourself making a judgment about someone's behavior stop and think about if you can just let it go and assume they had good intentions.

If you can truly let it go then you may find that you have a more pleasant day.