What you can't tell by looking at someone...

On any given day people that you interact with could be:

• Afraid of losing their job
• Concerned about finances
• Suffering from crippling self-doubt
• Dealing with a difficult child
• Having marital problems
• Working for a jerk of a boss
• Coming down with something
• Coping with the death of a friend or family member
• Supporting someone close to them who is very ill
• Having car trouble
• Exhausted from making difficult decisions about an aging parent
• Reeling from just being yelled at
• Coming off of a night of poor sleep
• Distracted due to overwhelm
• Afraid of being exposed as incapable at work
• Feeling lonely

People mess up. They say they wrong thing, do something insensitive, fail to live up to promises, look at you funny, or do substandard work. It's frustrating and hurtful being on the receiving end of those kinds of behaviors, but in most cases we'd do well to allow for the possibility that just maybe the slight isn't about us. Consider that though we can't tell by looking, there could be a reasonable explanation for what just happened. Perhaps one of the above situations describes what that person is dealing with -- and then treat them with kindness.