WHEN REALITY STRIKES

Ever have those moments when you’re feeling on top of the world?  You know, like you just lost 15 pounds but everyone is complementing you like you’ve lost 50?  Or, your kid goes out of his way to give you a kiss before running into the school and you think “Wow, I have the best kid ever!  I’m the luckiest mom alive!”  Or, your refund check from the government comes back and it’s like $2000 more than you thought it would be?

Are you feeling me people?  Do you KNOW what I’m talking about?

But then, reality strikes.

Because despite those 15 pounds lost, you catch a reflection in the window as your shopping and notice you’ve been sporting a pair of underwear that has static cling-ed itself to your backside.  So, all those people who NOTICED your weight loss more than likely NOTICED your unfashionable accessory.  Or, that precious child that kissed you in front of all of his friends before school, punches a kid at recess and you get to have that “delightful” conversation with the principal three hours later.  Or finally, the refund check that seemed too good to be true, actually is.  Fortunately, you called your accountant to double check before you cashed it.

You know what I mean, don’t you?  Wind knocked.  Sails depleted.

If you’ve ever run your own business this can sometimes seem like a daily thing.  One customer calls just to compliment you on the great work only to have another one complaining about how you didn’t put the cover back exactly how they had it before you left.  One person thanking you for squeezing their inspection into your schedule last minute, while another calls to complain because though their house doesn’t close for another two months the inspection isn’t done.  It’s never ending.

But, those compliments or sweet behaviors sure do happen help soften the blows that are bound to come later!  We all know, eventually, reality IS going to strike.  You ARE going to have static underwear.  You ARE going to get the phone call from the principal.  You ARE going to give the excess cash back. That irritated customer is going to call.  So with that in mind, we need to savor the good things, but I believe we have to put some sweetness out there too.  If we like the good stuff, shouldn’t we help create some good stuff for others too?

Think about it, isn’t it the little things that make your day?

A compliment from a friend or stranger

A friendly text

Someone buying you (or retrieving for you) a cup of coffee (or wine…I’m cool with either beverage myself!)

A loving word or gesture from your own child

Take in point, today.  I had a customer call and compliment our website.  Now, though the website was up and going when we bought the business, I have made tweaks and other contributions over the past year that I would like to think have made our sight better and more useful for our customers.  I also have an amazing website guy (contact Matt at Three Pillars Media for all your website needs…shameless plug now over….) that makes the site look good and when I want to add something he is there to make brilliant suggestions for my ideas.  (psst….He is WONDERFUL! Okay, seriously, I’m done now.  Call Matt.)  But he has also taught me how to log on and make changes without his help.  I am pretty much to the point where, unless I want an actual tab added, I can go in and tweak my website all by myself!! 

By this time next year, I’ll be ready to take my training wheels off!!  It’s really quite liberating…

Wait, bunny trail taken.  Back to my original point:  Let’s all work to be nice to others because reality is going to strike soon so why not “pad” them from those strike zones.

This lady who called and complimented our website made my day.  It made me feel like my time and work had paid off by being useful to another person.  And if we sit and think about it, how often do people call a business and compliment them on their website?  I would venture to say never.  But this lady did and her simple compliment made me feel like my work had paid off.  Plus, it put me in a better mood so that when I had to deal with other aspects of the business that can be quite icky, I had that positive thought in my head all day.

My dad used to tell me this, “Jaime, make sure you say thank you to others for their help and service.  People are always ready to complain, but rarely to say thanks.”  It has stuck with me for years and I hope I do just that, thank people, compliment people, make friendly conversation as they help me, etc.  We never know what is going on in someone’s life and it takes so little to say or do something that could mean so much!

When I was teaching in Kansas, I came across a satire of a written warning I would share with my students just for fun.  The warning read that everyone needed to be extremely careful not to spread this highly contagious “disease” that was going around called a ….SMILE!  Of course, the kids would laugh and then I would encourage them to think about spreading this “disease” around the school.  I would also tell them to experiment with this in public.  Have you ever smiled at someone – even a stranger – and not had them smile back?  I’m sure there is probably a Scrooge or two out there that won’t return your smile with even a grin, but I would bet 99% of the time, the majority of people you smile at, will smile back.  Don’t believe me?  Try it for yourself.

Again, I say it takes very little to make a person’s day and who knows how much something as simple as a smile could help.

So with that, I hope you’re having a wonderful day and ready to start a good weekend! If you can, picture me smiling at you.  Catch my contagious “disease” and pass it on!