Most Generous Interpretation Principle

When I work with student-athletes 1-on-1 often times our conversations can focus on something someone - a coach, parent, or teammate - said to them that they are struggling to move past. In these situations I teach these athletes something known as the MOST GENEROUS INTERPRETATION PRINCIPLE. It is a simple principle to understand, but takes some practice to make it a default thinking pattern

The MOST GENEROUS INTERPRETATION PRINCIPLE is a mental skills tool where we take what someone said or did and try to think to ourselves what is the most generous interpretation of this situation that I can give? Instead of assuming the worst in the situation, let’s consider something much more generous!

EXAMPLE: Someone cuts you off on the road. Now most of us in this situation may want to interpret that this person is just a jerk and horrible person. But the MOST GENEROUS INTERPRETATION could be that the person’s spouse is in labor and in the backseat and they are rushing to the hospital.

Is this interpretation true? Doesn’t matter. What matters is that applying the MOST GENEROUS INTERPRETATION PRINCIPLE often times allows us to stay in control of our emotions in the situation and respond better.

When I am working with an athlete to build this skill, I ask them to write about things that were said to them, what they heard, and a MOST GENEROUS INTERPRETATION (MGI) for that specific situation. Let me share what this looks like using examples from a basketball player that I am currently working with (thank you GRANT!).

What was said: (Coach) “I need you to rebound!”

What I heard: You suck at rebounding

MGI: You are a really good rebounder and when you do your job well our team is better.

What was said: (Asst. Coach) “Sprint back on defense”

What I heard: You are being lazy!

MGI: Your defense is an asset to this team and you have speed that we need you to use.

What was said: (Coach) “We need you to get downhill and attack the rim.”

What I heard: You are playing scared and aren’t an aggressive player.

MGI: Reminding me what one of my strengths are that I wasn’t using at that point in the game.

Now, maybe what they heard is what the coach really meant. But does believing that help this player to be the best version of themselves on the basketball court? NO! By applying the MOST GENEROUS INTERPRETATION to what was said, this player was able to get their head back in the right place and be an asset to their team.

JOURNAL ACTIVITY

Write about at least 5 situations from the last week where something was said to you that you interpreted negatively. Could be from a coach, a teammate, a parent, a teacher, or a boss. It does not have to be sports related.

Write what was said, what you heard, and then write out a MOST GENEROUS INTERPRETATION for each situation. Finally write about how believing that MOST GENEROUS INTERPRETATION would benefit you.

Final word of wisdom, changing how you interpret the things that are said to you will take time. But I’ve seen this principle work for so many student athletes and I want to encourage you to do the hard work of developing this thought pattern in your life.