Assume positive

When dealing with messages with no clear personal context, always assume positive meaning.

It sounds simple, right? Today communication is often devoid of personal context—we usually don't see the face, mimics, body language of the message sender.

It's so easy to assume negative attitude, a sentence suggesting sarcasm, nasty innuendo. Sometimes it is there, and sometimes it's not.

Let's make an experiment: until tomorrow, assume everything sent to you was sent with a positive attitude. Don't give into sarcasm, ignore irony. Every emoticon is a happy one, until tomorrow.

How much happier will you be, assuming nobody is rude to you?