Assuming Good Intent

I have been doing a lot of soul searching of late. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that their intentions are good. I don't think that very many people are truly evil, or to quote myself, "No one wakes up in the morning and says "You know what I am gonna do today? Suck!" "

My problem comes when I have come to that point where someone has hurt me to a large degree, or taken advantage one too many times. I am realizing that I have a very difficult time returning to that place of assuming good intent. I assume that if someone has hurt me, and I have chosen to let it affect me, their intentions can never be good again. I look for reasons that the individual could be trying to hurt me again. This is an unfair assessment of people, and I realize it is a hypocritical position for me to take because I believe so strongly that people really do intend to do good in general. I also realize that I have a difficult time trusting people, and when I refuse to allow people to have good intentions toward me, I am a part of the problem, and not a part of the solution. As long as I have this attitude, I will not be able to trust people.