Word-Of-the-Week #761: Respectful
March 7, 2019 by Susan Clarke
Respectful – showing appreciation and admiration for another person.
How often do you show appreciation or admiration for another person? Do you treat people with the same dignity and respect that you’d like for yourself?
This week is the second half of “Tips for being happy (even when you’re not) at work and elsewhere,” by Phil Blair. To recap he wrote: I’d much rather be around positive, upbeat people, those who see the glass of life at least half-filled instead of running on empty. No matter what’s going on in their personal or professional lives, their outward demeanor is friendly, warm, welcoming.
The people I prefer to be around are dependably friendly and enthusiastic. They avoid saying negative things about others. They’re capable and confident, but they’re able to laugh at themselves. They don’t take themselves too seriously. They’re able to mask a bad day, or that morning’s silly squabble with a spouse, or that lousy job they can’t wait to leave.
How is that possible, you ask? Take a few sips from this half-filled glass:
- Be gracious. Simply show appreciation for those around you and treat them with the respect and dignity you’d like for yourself – even if you’re not treated that way.
- Don’t be messy. You know the well-worn adage, “A messy desk is a sign of a genius at work.” Don’t believe it. Unless you’re a certified genius, I’d advise you to keep your desk free from clutter. An organized desk is an organized mind.
- Avoid negative people. If possible, seek out friends and co-workers whom you like to be around. Make a concerted effort to fend off office gossips and those who dispense toxic talk. How can you tell those negative types? Hint: They sigh and moan, a lot.
- Be generous. With compliments, for starters. Be the first to praise a job well-done, whether it’s for a co-worker or your boss. Because you know that if you were the boss, you’d love hearing a kind word or two.
- Seek a deeper meaning. This can be a challenge. We all have our own religious or spiritual beliefs and ways of finding deeper meaning in our lives – or not. If that deeper meaning isn’t within your life’s work, then find some enriching connection to a force greater than yourself. Think family, friends, faith.
- Smile more. I mean it. Go ahead and smile, right now. Bet you feel better already. We all look and feel better when we’re smiling.
Your thoughts, happy or not, are always welcome.”
When I read Be Gracious what came up for me was respectful and the phrase “Behind every great/successful man stands a woman.” I want to say my husband Chris has fully supported and allowed me to become a great/successful woman. He is so respectful and always my champion. He is one of the very few men that I have ever met who truly treats women as an equal!
This week’s focus is on being respectful. How generous are you when it comes to giving compliments? How often do you tell your family, friends, co-workers and customers that you appreciate them? How would it feel to make a commitment of following the Golden Rule every day?
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