Courtesy – not that hard

07 Apr Courtesy – not that hard

What is courtesy?

Treating with people with courtesy is not that hard, it’s actually quite simple. Just think about how you would like to be treated or spoken to and go from there.

Teaching courtesy?

It is important to encourage and teach our children courtesy now more than ever. Are you wondering about the reason I say that? It’s because someone expressed their concerns to me about the future of this generation. It was stated that we are raising a generation of children to be bossy and although practising courtesy is not that hard many homes have a ‘smart speaker’ and we, children and adults, ask questions of these products without any mention of ‘please’ or ‘thank you’. It stands to reason that if children are raised asking questions to a product that they’ll speak to a human being the same way.

Can you imagine?

Can you imagine what a difference it would make if home speakers started to recognise the word ‘please’ as the signal that the question is now completed and then goes searching for the answer to the question? What would happen if the home speaker system answered the question and waited for the “thank you” before recognising the question was completed?

Imagine if the speaker system said ‘You’re welcome’ if people responded with ‘thank you’. Do you think it would have an impact on how children would respond to their peers and adults? Not to mention adults! I recall one of the best managers I had was a manager who said ‘thank you’ every day to every employee as they left work and headed home. His office had two doors, one which opened to the reception area where you waited for the lift and he opened that door every afternoon to ensure that his staff knew they were valued and respected. Not that hard but it meant so much to so many – who were all loyal employees of course!

The attitude of gratitude

It is said that the more you practice gratitude the more wonderful things come into your life. By saying ‘thank you’ and “you’re welcome” it reminds me of the attitude that is portrayed in Marie Kondo’s methodology when decluttering through your clothes. When a piece of clothing no longer brings joy into your life and you make the decision to donate it, it is suggested that you practice gratitude and say thank you to that piece of clothing for the joy it did bring into your life at an earlier stage of your life.

Regardless of whether we are speaking, or growing gratitude to a person or a thing it is important that we are mindful of the long term, and short term, impact that it is having on the world and all within – both human and otherwise.

Courteous words and actions

By raising children to have a sense of respect for everything in our world – humans, animals, plants, material goods – we are teaching them to value and respect everything and everyone. This has an impact on the basics of life – treating and speaking to people with courtesy and learning that words and actions go together in every aspect of life. It has an impact on the environment they live in, in every sense of the word. Their home environment, their child care environment, their school environment, their future working environment and the environment of the planet.

Raising kids with courtesy

It’s not that hard to figure out that courteous kids become courteous people. It’s the little things that count and they have a bit impact on not just the life of the child who is being raised with courtesy but everyone they come across throughout their life.

The downside to courtesy

There is no downside to you being courteous. There is the possibility that people won’t return your courtesy so just remember that they are the ones who might need it most – regardless of how they others choose to behave you’re the one who decides how you wish to behave – be kind, be kind, be kind.

How do you build character?

Focus on one characteristic a week. As a result you will discover that when the opportunity arises the weekly characteristic will come to mind. You will intuitively know when and how to apply it. Character building is a life long exercise. You constantly ‘become’ who you wish to be – life is a journey, not a destination. In conclusion, life is much easier when you focus on deepening and strengthing your characteristics. When times are tough you will discover how resilient you are. Feeling content is another benefit.