(PS. Mr. Swagger is not HUSBAND. I have many male followers and one of them has generously offered to add perspective as a regular correspondent.)
About 10 years ago I was walking down the street in New York with a friend of mine who I have a tremendous amount of respect for. He literally would say “good morning” to nearly every person we walked by on the street. It was effortless, not strange, and it didn’t seem like he was going out of his way to do it either. I said “ do you realize that you’ve said “good morning” to almost every person that has walked by us today? He said, “Hmm, I guess I have, I don’t know… IT’S NICE TO BE NICE”… This is a tough dude too. In the same sentence, he can smile at you, he can smack you in the mouth. That said, an amazing man. Now that was probably the most simple thing I’ve ever heard but it’s also stuck with me more than anything I’ve heard since. Is it that hard to be nice to people? Don’t get me wrong, I can be a real prick, but I believe if I’m good to people, people are going to be good to me. Now.. what does this all mean? Imagine if we all took a little bit more time to be nice to people…. Say “good morning” when you walk by someone on the street, be nicer to the waiter making minimum wage, When you are at a red light and someone is standing there selling fruit.. Buy some! It doesn’t matter if you like fruit or not, its not about you, actually tip the person well that is washing your car (FACT: most people don’t at all), call your mom, help someone get a job, be happy for someone else’s success, feel badly for someone else’s misfortune, tell someone you appreciate them, say “have a nice night” to the garage attendant you usually walk by every evening and ignore as you are going to your car after work, Tell someone they look nice. I mean how basic is all the above? Truth is, nobody really does it, but we’re supposed to. We’re too focused on our blackberries, our ipads, our cell phones -OURSELVES. It’s something to think about. It can be contagious too. It doesn’t mean you don’t have an edge or are soft. I’m telling you…. IT’S NICE TO BE NICE- makes sense. Hope it does to you too or we’re all in trouble.