I was always told by my parents and family to be nice to others by being polite, opening the door, helping elders, respecting everyone etc… I am talking about all the small courtesies that you can do in your everyday life to make others and yourself happy. I am sure that most of you were also told and do the same. And often do people appreciate such courtesies by saying something nice or even a simple thank you, which for me, is enough to satisfy my need of acknowledgement.
Unfortunately, this is slowly but steadily fading away from our society.
We are often so busy with our own world that we forget the people around us. We might be having a bad morning maybe because of not sleeping well or having a bad hair day, silly but true for some people, and end up just walking past people as if they don’t exist without even saying HELLO. On some other good days where we had a good movie and dinner or woke up in a happy mood, we throw smiles everywhere and say Good Morning to everyone including plants sometimes.
Now, let me tell you my two point of views and why courtesy is and will always be a free commodity of happiness.
‘ONE‘ If you are having a bad day and are in no mood to talk to anyone and someone random smiles as they walk by and says “Good Morning, I hope you have a nice day.” You will probably throw a tiny smile back and say “Good Morning” or at least say “Same to you”. The positive energy of a tiny smile, even if it’s a fake one, sparks lights into your heart. *Unless you are one of those grumpy unfriendly people who should probably stay home to not ruin other people’s day. Not a typo!
Sometimes courtesy comes in a bigger scale. People might go out of their way to offer you some assistance with your job, making you coffee, or simply asking how you and your family are doing. Okay skeptical people, you will say he/she did it because they want something back but here, it doesn’t matter! Any and all courtesies will effect you in a good way no matter how big or small. SAY thank you. It’s FREE.
‘TWO‘ I learned through personal experience to never assume knowing what others are going through; that subject is for another time. But I always like to think that my small gestures and courtesies cheer up people no matter how bad their day is going. Some people simply don’t care or might find something negative to say but I’ll take my chances. There is always a chance that it will work and make someone smile. 🙂
What I do to spread a smile every day:
- I say Hello and greet almost every single person I have eye contact with especially at work.
- I hold the door or elevator for everyone
- I always try to let people leave the elevator or room before I do. *A small trick for the Arab world; the one on the right always goes first so I stay on the left. So you just say “Right” or “Yameen” in Arabic. Try it.
- I am happy to offer coffee and do it myself to everyone who comes to my office. A guest is a guest no matter where they visit me. AND yes, people do care who makes their coffee.
- I notice the details and complement people. If they have a new hair cut, I say nice hair cut; if they have new shoes, I say nice shoes; if I notice anything, I complement it. It’s not being cheesy, maybe a little, but it matters. We all like to be complemented for the new stuff we do or have.
- The list goes on…
Not everything is about offering money or materialistic gestures. The point I am trying to make here is: IT COSTS ME NOTHING to be nice. And when I get one person to smile a day; every single courtesy and gesture will be worth it.
It IS FREE and CONTAGIOUS.
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