“If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And if we have have the effrontery to talk to anybody with less than courtesy, we tell ourselves and the world we are not very intelligent.” – Maya Angelou
Here we are wrapped up in another day. People honk at me for obeying traffic laws (gasp!). They write emails and address me only by my first name (bye to the hi!). They power walk to beat me to the register at the grocery store. They ask for meetings after hours and expect us to be locked into our email, cell, and social media, 24/7.
Maybe we can’t change technology, but would it kill us to be a little more courteous to one another? I don’t care if the person was rude first, try killing them with kindness.
In our quest to be the best, we have all but forgotten how to be courteous to one another. As open as technology has allowed us to become, it seems as if we’re actually closing up. We’re afraid to make eye contact and say hello. If someone is nice, we blow them off as a weirdo that’s up to something.
I, I, I, I, me, me, me, me.
Winston Churchill famously said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Can we slow down a bit a take the time to think of others? Release the hard walls of our hearts? And for the love of God, stop beeping our horns the second the light turns green?
I believe that courtesy and patience are BFFs. Yet, impatience is running just as rampant as ratchet bathroom selfies. Have you ever seen a kid lose their shit when a video is buffering or a tablet freezes? Oh the horror!
Take time to remind yourself that we’re all doing the best we can. Slow down and talk to people. Say “hi” or at least smile. Give a wave, but not the finger (maybe I need a little more practice on that one).
You’ll find that anger and stress begins to fade when you take a deep breath. Better yet, when someone smiles back or shows gratitude, your mood will be lifted.
And what about those self-absorbed people? Let them be. You don’t want to be that miserable anyhow.
When’s a time that someone was courteous to you and it changed your day?