The Social Experiment

I have a confession to make – several weeks ago I conducted something of a “social experiment.”  You see, for a few weeks I had to walk to work which is not exactly a quick jaunt down the road, so the mile plus of pavement and stoplights gave me the opportunity to think sans dogs, internet, and other distractions.  A few days into it,  I decided to make some changes and see how people, both strangers and acquaintances alike, reacted to said differences.  These are the strategies I implemented:

1. SMILE – In general, keeping a pleasant look on one’s face yields positive results.  The other day I noticed a young woman jogging down the street.  She had a slight smile on her face and bopped her head to the music on her Ipod.  I took one look at her and thought, “Wow! She must be happy!”  Sadly, this sort of observation is rare, at least in my experience.  As I walk downtown, I notice people everywhere with what appear to be scowls or looks of malcontent on their faces.  Perhaps most people are simply thinking about something serious or concentrating on getting to work or maybe they really are just plain miserable, but I've learned it doesn't take much effort to keep a look of contentment on one’s face.  I recall the time period in high school shortly after I had my braces removed.  As a result of the orthodontics, not only did I have great teeth but I also had a new found self-confidence and smiled much more as a result.  I received so many compliments on my beautiful smile and subconsciously started to smile a lot more.  As I got older I noticed my smile getting thrown to the wayside.  After all, being a grown up means being serious, right?  Life becomes so much more complicated with bills to pay and other people to take care of and really important appointments that can’t be missed.  Even with all of that seriousness, I think it’s important to hold onto whatever joy we may have.  But, please, don’t walk down the sidewalk grinning ear to ear and chatting away with your imaginary friend.  You may then have a problem more serious than the scope of this blog J

2. Greet people – A simple “hello” will do in most situations.  By greeting people (happily, I must point out), it becomes apparent that we value them.  Now, when I was walking to work I obviously didn't greet every person I saw (that would be tiring!), but I made it a point to greet people whom I saw on a routine basis.  For example, there is a machine shop several blocks from our condo.  I see the same few workers out front everyday and usually just walk right on by.  As I've started to greet them, not only does it make my walk more pleasant, but I have a feeling that they felt more appreciated as well.  I remember how my grandfather used to wave and say “howdy” to everyone and I believe it brought him the greatest joy to show others he cared no matter if they were the town gossip or the local preacher or crazy Aunt Sally!  City living is much different than country living, but that doesn't excuse us from our responsibility to treat others with kindness.  Try it.

3. Use common courtesies– Those who know me well know that I abhor rudeness and can’t stand how “people these days” seem to have no respect for one another.  OK, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I think it’s pretty safe to say manners are not as commonplace as they used to be.  A large part of courtesy is respect, and once that hurdle is cleared it becomes quite easy to practice proper manners.  I’m not talking about which fork to use at the dinner table, but rather common courtesies such as holding the door open for others, helping someone trying to carry  heavy items, holding the elevator, saying “pardon me” when appropriate.  You get the idea. 

THE RESULTS

You may be wondering how my “experiment” ended.  Did I notice a big change in how others treated me?  Perhaps not a big change, but my pleasant demeanor did receive many lovely compliments from strangers on the street.  I’d like to think I helped brighten their day a bit.  Most notably, though, I noticed a change in myself and how I felt at the end of the day – happy, just what I was going for  J