I was raised in a family where, due to my Dad’s occupation; we didn’t stay very long in one place. I was taught to smile at people, say hello, how are you, and upon their leaving, I look forward to seeing you again (with a smile).
These became second nature to me and I have practiced them all my life. It became a habit.
I went from a customer service career in the phone company, to being a PA for the GM of a paint company to working as a secretary at IBM to being a missionary. All of these careers were where I could be safe in my comfort zone.
Then after being married and returning to Australia with 3 kids life took on a different role. Because stuff can happen to knock you around, my self confidence was destroyed and I had to rebuild. By having a mentor and a system to teach me that I could be who I chose to be and what I chose to believe was my decision. As I result of this mentoring I became involved in Human Resources and Management, became a cancer survivor, an Author, Motivational Speaker and Life Coach.
Almost every day, someone who I meet or have dealt with, will comment on my ready smile, friendly greeting, positive attitude and outgoing personality. Apparently the habit of being friendly that I took for granted left a pleasant and lasting impression on the people I met and dealt with over the years. Add to that the habit of being positive and finding the good in any situation has made me a much happier person and one that most people like to be around.
We all have the ability to do this if we want to. Instead of letting the little annoyances in life, bad news from radio, TV, or newspapers get to us, we can remain positive, friendly and pleasant.
By using this type of approach to life, we not only benefit the people we deal with, but also ourselves. We will always be healthier if we are grateful, find the good and believe in the good and share the good around!
A few tips you can use to adopt and maintain a happy/grateful disposition:
1. Smile – not only will people wonder what you’ve been up to; but more than likely they will smile back at you. This might be the only positive in a person’s day – your smile.
2. Show an interest and appreciation in the people you meet and deal with. In the book “How to win friends and influence people” the author talks about being more interested in the other person. After all that is the topic they like to talk about most. Ask them questions about them.
3. Listen! When others are talking you give yourself a break and quite often you gain some knowledge and information that you might have missed otherwise. Listening is different than hearing. Listening is “feeling” with the other person.
4. Share some personal life experiences with others. It is amazing how more quickly you connect with people when you do this. Never share an experience that is to “top” the other persons and make you look superior.
5. Inject some humour into your conversation. Share a laugh! Humour is good for the soul and the body and a laugh shared is a laugh multiplied – and be willing to laugh at yourself.
Les Brown says “If you lose your zest for laughter – you lose your zest for life”!
