Be Courteous

There seems to be an overabundance of rudeness in the world. I think some of it comes from the anonymity of our society. Most of the people we encounter are strangers whom we will never see again. This is especially true of people we deal with over the phone or while driving. We lack accountability for how we treat them….one interaction and we are done! So it’s easy to be rude or think that our issues and needs are way more important than theirs. We need to try to treat everyone with kindness and courtesy, and realize that they are people with thoughts and problems of their own.

Think of everyone you deal with as if they were a neighbor that you will have to look in the eye day after day, and you will probably treat them more courteously.

So many times I’ve found myself saying this to my kids, and thinking “that sounds so old-fashioned.” Yet courtesy is the foundation of civilization. It’s not that hard to do – we just have to get into the habit.

This whole concept hit me years ago when I was driving to work. I was running late and in a hurry. I can’t remember exactly what I did, but I was not the model of courtesy in my driving. When I pulled into the parking lot at work, I realized that one of the cars I had flown past was someone who worked at my company. I slunk down in my seat, hoping they wouldn’t recognize me. At that moment, I realized that I would never have behaved the way I did if I had known the people in the other cars.