There is a very old adage that states “Familiarity breeds contempt.” What this means is that, as we get to know someone (or something) more, we are apt to like them less. Now that’s what I call negative and short term thinking. Think about those people that you’ve known for a long time: old friends, family members, spouses, coworkers. With small thinking it would be easy to find and focus on their faults. But if you really think about the big picture, you have kept your relationships with these people for a reason. And that reason is that you like or maybe even love them. And this means that you accept them for who they are. You are able to overlook their flaws and see the much larger good in them. Otherwise you most likely would have given up on them a long time ago. Does familiarity breed contempt? If you see things optimistically then you’d agree that familiarity breeds acceptance.