So today I was thinking more about the whole ‘negative outlook’ vs. ‘positive outlook’ after an experience I had at the courthouse this afternoon.  Sometimes I think we get so used to poor customer service that it just isn’t something we pay much attention to anymore.

I say that because today while at the courthouse I was served by a very miserable looking young woman.  I thought to myself as she talked to me without even looking up from her paperwork, ‘wow… how rude!’  I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to her that caused her to be so lacking in basic customer service skills?  And then I did what I always do, I began to think about what kind of day she might have had and if another customer was rude to her, which then affected her attitude towards me etc.  Often times I find myself empathising with others if I make up a sad story in my mind about their life and why they are acting a particular way. Then (which isn’t always a good thing) I tend to excuse their behaviour.

The story I made up for this young woman was that she has extremely low self esteem and THAT was why she wouldn’t look me in the eye.  I imagined her getting made fun of growing up, and maybe even being ‘bullied’ by some person that looked kinda like me… I  mean if my husband was with me he’d say something like ‘seriously Colleen, you’re imagination is too wild… SHE’S RUDE… and that’s as deep as it gets’… lol

Well regardless of the reasoning behind her rude attitude towards me, I walked out of the courthouse thinking about how powerful a simple ‘smile’ can be to the people around you.  Personally, I want to be ‘that person’ leaving others feeling good once they’ve encountered me.  Clearly, not everyone thinks that way, but I think it’s worth giving some thought. 

Think about how powerful a simple smile can be not just in your life, but in the life of another person.