The
courteous and beneficent to inferiors -the irony of that statement
will not be lost on most.
It seems to be en vogue these days to treat others as though they were
inferior whether it is at work, in the grocery store or driving home.
If ever you needed to see where people aren’t gracious just watch cars
trying to merge into traffic during rush hour in any of our major
cities. Being gracious used to be a no brainer, if someone was in
need you helped out. Today however pitching or tuning in requires
putting yourself aside and picking up a lost art.
Being gracious is really about being present with someone, regardless
of who they are or what they are saying. This seems hard to do when
you have a telemarketer on the end of the phone after a long day at
the office. However in most cases that person is trying to pay their
rent or pay their college tuition. They did not choose the job because
of all the perks that come with minimum wage jobs, they are doing
because it is all they have. So being gracious requires you to spend 3
minutes to let them have their say. Then you can politely decline them
without having made them feel inferior.
Being gracious doesn’t mean you have to listen to everything. Think
about the office gossip. You aren’t being gracious when you indulge
them. But the next time a child tries to tell you something that is
REALLY important, and no one could possibly hope to follow the logic-
smile and listen. Be gracious, allow them that moment. You will have
lots of moments for yourself, every once in a while let other people
have theirs.
No comments:
Post a Comment