There is nothing more
unapproachable than a glum cranky looking person. We see this a lot in young people who are
intent on their electronic devices, but seniors often aren’t very friendly either. Why do we do it? People seem to have forgotten how to smile; they have forgotten how to be
nice. Seniors get a lot of bad
press. Typical stereotypes tell the
world that we are senile, that we can’t remember things, that we are rigid,
depressed and depressing, lonely and isolated.
Well granted, if we buy into to all that we might not feel like smiling
or being nice. The trouble with stereotypes is that if you hear them
often enough you start to believe them, and pretty soon you become those people.
It is not that most folks
don’t want to be nice. People simply get so caught up in the hustle
and bustle of everyday living that they forget to take the time to nod, or
smile, or make themselves approachable. Since when have smart phones and other forms
of electronic communication taken the place of the simple smile? I was actually appalled when I heard on the
news this morning that airlines are planning on making cell phone use available
during flights. Can you imagine being
trapped next to someone yakking on their phones all the way across the country?
Oh oh, there I go again…being cranky!
Let’s think about that for
awhile. A smile is contagious. Let’s
try by smiling more often, making eye contact, and calling people by name. Speak as if you think that person might have
something worthwhile to say, thank them for their time, and don’t be so stingy
with compliments. Let’s see if we can
go out of our way to be nice. It could be an experiment.
I love Oprah magazine. In the latest edition (September 2012) the magazine
(www.oprah.com/magazine) featured
an article by Meredith Bryan called “How Can I Be Nice,” and it made me think. The author talks about how she lived in a
busy city that was teeming with life.
The city was also teeming with strangers and she didn’t know any of
them. She didn’t speak to anyone that
she didn’t know and she kept her eyes downcast when scurrying around. What does that say about her, what does it
say about us? She decided to smile more and she discovered that she
liked the way it made her feel. She
liked it so much that she wrote an article so that she could share the feeling
with her readers.
Shari Caudron (Workforce:
March 2001) also wrote about how a smile can make your world shift gears.
Feeling good and letting the world know that you feel good by treating it to a
smile, does wonders for your attitude. A
good attitude, she discovered, could change your world. She concluded by saying that if you smile
the world smiles with you. Frown and you
frown alone. Pretty profound don’t you
think? Try to smile; you could be a good will ambassador for seniors everywhere. Being described as nice is one of the most
meaningful descriptions that someone can make about you. It isn’t that most people don’t want to be
nice, they have just forgotten how.
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