It’s Nice to be Nice!

Every person that I know, likes and needs to be appreciated. I would go as far as stating that every single person in this world wants and needs to be shown appreciation by others (and love, respect etc of course).

When you feel appreciated, it makes things easier to do. You’re happy to do something when you feel and know that you are appreciated. On the flip side of that, it can be hard to find the motivation to do some tasks when you don’t feel that your efforts are appreciated. (I’m speaking from personal experience here too, so this is not just some idle comment I’m making).

Do you feel appreciated?

How good do you feel when someone bestows upon you a random act of kindness? It feels great, doesn’t it?

You feel pleasantly surprised, flattered perhaps, pleased, appreciative, grateful … all those things, more or less.

Everybody seems to be in such a hurry these days. We’ve all heard of road rage and all those other “rages” that emerge seemingly on a daily basis.

What is wrong with this world?!

How hard is it to stop and think about someone else and be considerate of their feelings?

Don’t get me wrong, everyone has their own problems and challenges in their lives. But so does the next person.

In my humble opinion, and that is all it is – MY opinion – I believe that if more people were more considerate of others and their feelings, then the world would be a much nicer place. I’m sure most people would have heard the phrase, “one good turn deserves another”.

I don’t doubt that some people reading this will be thinking something along the lines of, “Well yes, that sounds all ‘fine and dandy’ but you just don’t know what MY life is really like – try walking in my shoes!”.

I fully appreciate that everybody has their challenges (I’ve had more than my fair share, don’t worry) and that for some, it is difficult to be nice to others when they have too much going on in their own lives. All I am saying is, please stop and consider the next person. Your turn will come – you will be the “next person” for someone else.

Do not get me wrong in what I’m saying though. The world has a great number of wonderful, kind, caring people. I just believe that everyone has the potential to be one of those wonderful, kind, caring people.

One day (earlier this year) when I was queued up to pay for my petrol, I was searching through my purse trying to find a fuel discount voucher that hadn’t expired! (and that was some mean feat! – you should see my purse – it’s held together with a rubber band half the time because I never seem to get around to cleaning it out! hehe).

Anyway, I found that I had two vouchers expiring that very day. (I hate that they expire in such a short space of time. You purchased goods at their store, it shouldn’t have an expiry date, but that’s a whole other story!).

You’re only allowed to use one fuel discount voucher per transaction, so I turned to the man behind me and asked, “Do you have a fuel voucher?”. He said, “Actually, no I don’t”. “You do now”, I said, as I smiled and handed him my spare one. His response: “Wow, thanks!” and a big smile!

It was no good to me, so I figured that someone else might as well save a couple of dollars rather than it just go in the bin. It was spur of the moment thing I did, and I’m glad that the man didn’t have a voucher. If he had though, I would have offered it to the next person coming in to pay on my way out.

I didn’t know that man “from a bar of soap” so to speak, and I’ve never seen him again. I’d like to think that my random act of kindness made him feel good and that it inspired him to do something nice for someone else.

Who knows, he may have let another car leave in front of him, or stopped and let a pedestrian walk past before he left the premises. I don’t know. If he didn’t, then that’s okay. I did what I did simply because it’s nice to be nice.

Here are just a few little suggestions you might like to think about if you find yourself caught up in your own world and maybe feeling less than hospitable to others:

• You never know who has just lost a relative or friend and is coping to deal with that – everyone grieves differently and in different timeframes.
• You don’t know who is waiting anxiously to hear news of someone dear to them.
• Be patient with older people. Some do take a lot longer to get their money out of their purses or wallets in shops, and load their groceries etc, but you know, we’ll all be old one day, and I’d like to think that a younger, more physically able person will take the time to help me if I need it.

Any time I’ve helped an older person, I’ve thought that I hope someone helps my grandparents if they need help.

• If you see a parent struggling to cope with their kids in a shop or some place else, and it is obvious that the parent is getting flustered or frustrated trying to “keep it together”, then ask if there is something that you can do to help them. Chances are, they will politely say “no thanks, I’m right”, even when it’s evident that they’re not! But at least offer – and be sincere about it – they may just be so relieved for some help that they take you up on your offer!

Thankfully my kids are pretty well behaved in shops, although they do have their moments, just like any child! I used to feel very embarrassed if one of my children was crying or screaming in a shop (for whatever reason), but now it doesn’t worry me.

You will always get those who “look down their nose” at you because of your child’s behaviour, but don’t let that worry you. I can guarantee you that they either haven’t had kids yet, or they’ve forgotten what it was like shopping with kids!

How about the slow driver in front of you? It can be very frustrating when you’re late for an appointment or something and you’re being help up by a slow driver, but rather than get annoyed at THEM for “slowing you down”, take a step back and think about why they are driving slow (that and the fact it’s not their fault that you’re late!).

• Maybe they are low on fuel and are trying to ensure that they arrive at the next fuel station before running out.
• Maybe they lack confidence in their driving ability, and feel safer driving slower.
• Maybe they are really tired and have no choice but to drive, however, driving slower is safer for them (and you).
• Maybe there is something wrong with their car.

Who knows? Whatever the reason, they are either totally oblivious to how you’re feeling about their slow driving, or if they’re like me, then they’re completely aware of the fact that they are slowing others down and are just hoping that the people behind them are level-headed enough to appreciate that there might be a particular reason for the slow driving.

Food for thought …

So without sounding too idealistic, let’s band together and help make this world more wonderful.

If you have read my other blog posts so far, you will see that I’ve written a poem at the end of each. I think I’ve started something now, because I felt compelled to write a poem about being nice, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

It’s called, quite obviously (hehe), “It’s Nice to be … Nice!”

It’s nice to be nice,
For no particular reason,
Not the day or the month,
Or even the season.

It’s nice to be nice,
You’ll make someone’s day,
Start a chain reaction,
And see what they say!

It’s nice to be nice,
Give it a try,
‘Tho some may wonder,
And ask you, “why?”.

It’s nice to be nice,
Not just once or twice,
Practice it daily,
‘Til you’ve got it precise!

It’s nice to be nice,
Bad behaviour – refrain!
You’ve got nothing to lose,
And all to gain.

It’s nice to be nice,
Make the world a better place,
Smile and greet strangers,
See the look on their face!

It’s nice to be nice,
So hold your head high,
Smile and greet people warmly,
And watch their souls fly!

It’s nice to be nice,
Being helpful’s all it takes,
Add good manners to the mix,
See the difference that it makes!

It’s nice to be nice,
Make it second nature,
Treat others with respect,
Habit will become behaviour.

It’s nice to be nice,
Just watch it rub off,
Onto others around you,
‘Tho some people may scoff …

It’s nice to be nice,
Make it your purpose,
Spread goodwill and happiness,
The “pay off” is worth it!

It’s nice to be nice,
It won’t cost you a cent,
But the value that you gain,
Is the best investment.

It’s nice to be nice,
Karma’s a powerful notion,
What goes ’round, comes ’round,
It’s like a magic potion!

It’s nice to be nice,
What you give is what you get,
So if you’re not nice to others,
Then Karma won’t forget …

It’s nice to be nice,
Life’s too short for silly fights,
Tell your loved ones that you love them!
Then hug ‘em with all your might!

It’s nice to be nice,
Thanks for reading my ditty,
I hope it makes you stop and think,
If it doesn’t … that’s a pity …

Please help me change the world,
One person at a time,
You can do your part by being nice,
And passing along this rhyme!