When people encounter you, what impression are they left from their interactions?
I was a little cranky about two weeks ago because my workout was starting later than I had intended, I hadn't had breakfast yet or any caffeine. I am trying to make sure that I work out before eating breakfast so I am drawing from the fat on my thighs for energy and not from the meal I just ate. To top it off I had a really hard time falling asleep the night before thoughts just keep coming in and out of my brain on things I hadn't thought about in over a decade, and things that definitely didn't need my mental attention at 3am.
Just before my workout my awesome niece had texted me asking for some help with something and I spent the time texting how I was cranky b/c I hadn't had breakfast, was late to work out, etc. but that I would text her when I was done so I could help her.
Now what have I transferred to her in that exchange? What impression have I left her of me at that moment? Was it really necessary for me to tell her all of those things and transfer that mood to her when she could be having a totally awesome day?
I saw this on Twitter: You know when someone means a lot to you when their mood can easily affect yours.
That made me think about a time when I wasn't as happy as I am in my life right now - much more extreme than that exchange on text message. There was a time when I would take any opportunity to pull someone/anyone into a bad mood that I was having. If I were tired and frustrated, I would take out that aggression and frustration on anyone around me. I would talk to them with angst and annoyance. I would give them quick, quip answers to their questions and treat them with a level of disrespect. I would do this mostly to the people closest to me, ultimately the ones that I subconsciously knew would put up with it.
I know I am much better than I used to be, because I am more happy and respectful of those closest to me. I have apologized about a thousand times for my past behavior, and I try every time to make up for what I have done to those closes to me, but it can be easy to slip back into that behavior or cause a chain reaction with an interaction we have even had with a stranger and pass that on to a loved one.
Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
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