Go out and be a blessing
When I first started working in the real estate industry, my broker used to end every staff meeting with the same phrase...go out and be a blessing. When I asked him one day over coffee why he always sent us off with those words, he told me that it was his goal to try as hard as he could to leave the people he interacted with during the day happy to have seen him. Not only was it good business practice, but it's just the right thing to do. He said you don't have to be gushy, and for heaven's sake don't tell everyone you meet to have a nice day. Just be kind to everyone you meet and find a way to help someone else every single day. Such a simple concept...be a blessing...but one I remember to this day and have always tried to follow. Some days it's easy. Open a door for someone, thank the someone who opens one for you. Tell the kid bagging your groceries that she did a good job. Some days it devolves into waving cheerily at whoever that is in the car behind me gesturing and honking her horn. And yes, some days you have to really, really dig down deep to be anything approaching a blessing.
There was a series of commercials that aired several years ago where people were absolutely amazed by others who did little things during the day, like picking up a child's toy that fell from a stroller or running after someone who had left their briefcase at the diner. They went on to pay it forward by doing something nice for someone else. I refuse to believe that people are shocked by little courtesies. In my world, Polyanna and I believe in the goodness of people and that, given the chance, they want to be nice or at least courteous. I truly believe that people respond in kind to how they are treated. And when you think about it, what is the alternative? To go thru your day scowling at people, assuming they are all out to get you?
With that in mind, go out and be a blessing. And if that involves being in the Starbucks drive-thru and paying for the coffee of the person behind you, good on you. If that person is a redhead driving a Subaru Forester, thank you.
There was a series of commercials that aired several years ago where people were absolutely amazed by others who did little things during the day, like picking up a child's toy that fell from a stroller or running after someone who had left their briefcase at the diner. They went on to pay it forward by doing something nice for someone else. I refuse to believe that people are shocked by little courtesies. In my world, Polyanna and I believe in the goodness of people and that, given the chance, they want to be nice or at least courteous. I truly believe that people respond in kind to how they are treated. And when you think about it, what is the alternative? To go thru your day scowling at people, assuming they are all out to get you?
With that in mind, go out and be a blessing. And if that involves being in the Starbucks drive-thru and paying for the coffee of the person behind you, good on you. If that person is a redhead driving a Subaru Forester, thank you.
