Hanlon’s Razor: A Mindset Shift for Letting Go of Negativity

My Favorite Razor

What? You don't collect razors and have a favorite?

Oh yeah, for a minute I forgot what a nerd I was.

But even as a nerd, I can make this one solid guarantee:

Most days, life offers up a parade of small betrayals.

Marcus Aurelius said it best:

"When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself:

The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly.

They are like this because they cannot tell good from evil.

But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own... and so none of them can hurt me.

They cannot implicate me in ugliness.

Nor can I be angry at my relative, or hate them. For we were born to work together."

• The friend who forgets your birthday.

• The colleague who leaves you off an important email.

• The driver who cuts you off in traffic.

• The person who doesn't text you back.

It’s easy - actually, nearly automatic - to take these things personally.

To feel slighted. To get angry.

To tell yourself a story where you're the victim of someone else’s malice.

But Hanlon’s Razor gives us a different lens:

"Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by ignorance or carelessness."

In other words:

Most people aren’t out to hurt you.

They're just overwhelmed, distracted, forgetful, or human, just like you.

When you understand this, forgiveness stops being a difficult act of willpower.

It becomes the natural byproduct of seeing reality clearly.

Hanlon’s Razor is not just a hack for logic.

It’s a cheat code for compassion

The Text That Ruined My Night

A while back, I was trying to buy a used mountain bike from an online forum. Not to be confused with a marketplace, this site just connected the buyers and sellers so that they could do their own deals.

After days of searching, I finally found the bike I wanted.

I had a two-day-long text exchange with the seller going over specs and options to swap out parts.

I was ready to pull the trigger.

I got all his account info, loaded up my Venmo with more money than most would think a used bike costs, and hit "send." Transaction confirmed.

And then... nothing. No reply. "Did you get it?" I asked. Nada.

My brain immediately went to "Oh, shit. I just got ripped off."

It was already late, and now I couldn't sleep.

The next morning, I had an early reply from him letting me know he was packing up the bike.

Oh yeah. He went to sleep because he was two hours ahead of me.

Man, negativity bias sucks.

5 Ways to Apply Hanlon’s Razor to Your Habit of Kindness

1. Assume Distraction First

Most "offenses" are just people being busy, not people being cruel.

2. Take Space, Not Offense

When you're hurt, take a breath. Assume good intent until proven otherwise.

3. Remember Your Own Slips

You’ve missed calls. You’ve forgotten birthdays. You’ve dropped the ball.

Were you evil? Probably not.

4. Ask, Don’t Accuse

A simple "Hey, did you see my message?" beats days of silent resentment.

5. Forgive Quickly, Forgive Often

Not because people always deserve it, but because you deserve peace.

Your Focus = Your Reality

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." - Plato (maybe)

When you stop assuming the world is out to get you,

you create space for more joy, more connection, and more life.

Does that mean that nobody will ever be out to get you? Of course not.

But when that happens - when it REALLY happens - you can deal with it.

But expecting such to be true by default is a really hard way to live.

Kindness isn’t just a virtue.

It’s a strategy.

And Hanlon’s Razor is one of the sharpest tools you have. Or at least I think it is.

Find your next edge,

Eli