This isn’t the post I planned to write and publish today but having observed people and their behaviours over the last couple of days I decided to write this one instead.
Usually people are courteous to each other, on most levels. Occasionally I see people being off hand or rude to others, but I tend to think that they are idiots and the thought leaves my head.
Over the last few days that has changed. I have started to notice that although the majority of people are nice, acknowledge, and even talk to people they don’t know (often when I am out walking people say hello) some people are the complete opposite.
There have been a number of occasions where people have spoken to others in a way that I find not only rude, but very disrespectful. On more than one occasion, where I have seen an interaction in full, I have wondered just what the reason was for behaving in that way.
Sometimes it is to people who are working in a service industry, but other times it is just when in peoples company.
For one of the occurrences it was obvious that the person who was behaving badly was doing so in order to either look good in front of or to impress another person. This in particular made me wonder, what was this persons motivation?
What kind of person would be impressed by someone rudely snapping comments and commands loudly at someone who was already involved in a conversation with another person?
Certainly not me, I would hope not anyone that I know or who is a friend or colleague. I would like to think that most people that I know would be as repulsed by this as I would be.
The first thing that came into my mind was who do they think they are talking to?
Closely followed by who do they think they are?
Which actually then led me to another thought that summed it up. I have heard, several times, people say ‘Do you know who I am?‘
That instantly to me summed up exactly this kind of person and the reasons for their behaviour. We may not know who they are or who they think that they are. But we do see who it is that they portray themselves as.
We see that under what they think is a good behaviour really is a dark, mean persona.
I was brought up to be respectful to anyone that I met. Whether that person is a King, a Chief Exec, a Doctor, a cleaner, a chef, someone who works in a shop or someone who sweeps streets. It is who we are, and how we treat others that matters, not who we think we are.
Through my working life I have worked with and seen many people who treat those that they think are beneath them, not as important as them, not worthy in a bad way. Then, when they need something from that person, treat them really well.
Personally, I treat everyone the same. When I meet someone I am open minded, polite and friendly. If people give me a reason to change that outlook, then I will.
Otherwise I am nice. The reason being that who I was brought up to be.
I am reminded of the phrase
It’s nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.
Are you aware of how you interact with others and how that comes across?
Pete Greensmith 