Are you being your best self?

I was in traffic the other day and needed to change lanes. I found myself in a lane only for people who wanted to turn left. I needed to go straight. The problem: no one would let me move into the other lane. I had my blinker on, was even making eye contact with several people, but they ignored me or pretended not to see me.

One woman looked at me and abruptly inched forward. Another person shook his head “No.”

I was shocked. I was disappointed. I was determined. After several more cars passed by me without letting me in, a nice woman allowed me to move into my desired lane.

Of course, the people who passed by me and wouldn’t let me change lanes weren’t doing anything legally wrong. They weren’t breaking any rules. They didn’t owe me anything.

It made me think: why weren’t these people willing to do something gracious for a stranger?

It wouldn’t have been a big deal for them to let me in and might have taken only a few seconds.

We can all learn from this little experience…

Just be nice. Be kind. Help out your fellow human being when you can. It really wouldn’t have been a big deal for any of those drivers to allow me the opportunity to move into the next lane. True, they didn’t have to and they don’t know me. We’ll probably never see each other again.

But, it wouldn’t have been a big deal for them to be considerate.

Everyday, we have a chance to show up to the world and be the best version of ourselves.

Being the best representation of myself means that I’m nice and pleasant to be around. I put a smile on my face and the interactions I have with other people leave them feeling good about their dealings with me. At least most of the time.

Sure, we can all go around not smiling at each other, not willing to help one another out, or we can make the encounters we have with other people an enjoyable experience.

It doesn’t matter how old you are: one is never too old or young to be nice.

We all have days when we’re tired, grumpy, and feel easily irritated. Moments when things aren’t going well and we’re feeling a little put out. But remember, when this happens you still have a choice: you can choose to let your mood get to you, or you can choose to be pleasant to be around.

Being my best self means I intentionally choose to be pleasant and nice as much as possible. Not just with people I know but with strangers and everyone I come into contact with.

Life is way more fun when you feel at peace. When you’re calm and positive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect and I’ve been know to get grumpy every now and then. Just ask my kids, they’ll be happy to agree with this.

I encourage you to pay attention to your interactions with strangers and people you come into contact with during the day: at the grocery store, shopping center, highway. It feels great to be nice to other people and it doesn’t cost anything.

Try it, and let me know how it goes. And by the way, please let other drivers change lanes if they need to…

Find meaning each day,

Dara

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