It is an exciting time. We just made it through Thanksgiving and Diwali; coming up we have Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. This is all assuming that we make it through that darn Mayan calendar and the end of the world.
As we make our way through this busy time, I wanted to remind people of the importance of common courtesy. A small thoughtful gesture from one person can really make the day for an unsuspecting beneficiary. The next time you are walking through a door, give a quick glance back to see if you can hold the door open for the person behind you. Of course you would hold the door open for a little old lady, but why do we have to stop at the little old lady? Why not hold the door open for a young lady, big burly dude, a skater punk or a Goth chick. Why not?
We can also all look to be a little more courteous when we are driving. Why not use your turn signal more often? Let people in your lane and when you are pulling up to a stop sign or light, look around to see if there is a side street. If there is, leave some room between you and the car in front of you so that someone could pull out; don’t block the intersection. This is one of the nicest things you can do for someone who is trying to get out on a busy street.
While shopping, if you need to leave your shopping cart and go grab something, just take a second to move your cart over to the side and out of the way.
All of these things are great and there are many more. Challenge yourself to find new and inventive ways to be extra courteous to your fellow citizens. Your immediate benefit is that you will feel great about yourself; it will be an instant jolt of pleasure for helping others. The next benefit is that other people will see you and your kind act. They will decide that they want to be more courteous as well and the momentum will start to build.
I don’t have exact numbers to back this up, but I am pretty sure that people get audited by the IRS less when they practice these types of courteous acts.