come from a good place

English

Verb

come from a good place (third-person singular simple present comes from a good place, present participle coming from a good place, simple past came from a good place, past participle come from a good place)

1. (idiomatic) To be motivated by decency, kindness, or good intentions.
   • 2009 December 12, Natasha Singer, Duff Wilson, “Menopause, as Brought to You by Big Pharma”, in New York Times, retrieved 1 March 2014:

     “In the 1990s, there was actually tremendous pressure to put women on hormone therapy, and it came from a good place,” Dr. Bates says.

   • 2011 July 23, Barbara Ellen, “Lucian Freud treasured the pleasures of the flesh”, in The Guardian/Observer, UK, retrieved 1 March 2014:

     Ironically, this hesitation to condemn comes from a good place – the part of the British psyche that rightly prides itself on respecting other cultures.

   • 2013 August 1, Claire Suddath, “Office Etiquette: The Farewell E-Mail”, in Businessweek, retrieved 1 March 2014:

     That gushing, glowing, 2,500-word goodbye e-mail does come from a good place. That doesn't make it a good idea.

   • 2014 February 16, Nick Duerden, “Laura Mvula: ‘I don't think I'm good at being a pop star’”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 1 March 2014:

     [M]y anxiety was my body's way of trying to protect me, to look after me. So the impulse was coming from a good place.

Synonyms

• come from the right place, have one's heart in the right place