This week I had three 5:30 am telecons, worked until 5 pm and then spent the night at school working on group projects. You have no idea how much I was looking forward to this fabulous weekend! Let’s just say that this was my motto for the week.
This nonstop week also posed some interesting questions for me. Two random men on the street made me realize that I look like I dread going to work which made me re-examine if I am really being present. As I walked into work on Tuesday, a man told me that I looked like it was Monday and that I should look happier because I am one day closer to Friday. Thank you, sir.
On Thursday as I was walking across the street into work, a man yelled out from his truck “Do you like your job?!” I yelled back “SURE!” and then thought about his question for the rest of the day. These two interactions in the same week made me realize that I don’t think I am taking my own advice. I know I have a lot of stuff on my mind but I don’t want someone who doesn’t even know me to think I am unhappy. I don’t want their first impression of me to be tired, stressed and overworked (even though I am…) Do you?!!
[Related Post: 4 Ways to Create a Habitat for Happiness at Work]
So what I learned this week is that it is not just important to be present, awake and alive at meetings with the boss and your co-workers but also strangers on the street. Who knows, maybe you can make someone else’s day.
Take the Time To Smile at Strangers – It Could Change Both Your Days!
The blog thinksimplenow offers this advice about smiling at work, “Living under a routine, we can easily be in a zombie-like state. We zip into work quickly following the same routines we’ve habituated. Our target is to get to work, and we can sometimes forget about the people around us. So, the challenge is to practice beaming with smile as you come into work. Smile genuinely with people you meet. Be completely pleased to see them. Make it a focus for the day, to bring more happiness into the lives of others. Ask them genuinely and infused with energy, “How are ya?” “How was your weekend?” Watch the smiles surface on their face.”
Another website I came across when I googled “Smile at Strangers” was the blog Living Life Out Loud where I found a story of what happened when the writer smiled at a stranger.
“One day when I was waiting in line for my prescriptions at Walgreens, an older man was sitting in a chair by the line. I looked up and caught his eye and smiled.
He smiled back and started talking to me. When I picked up my order, I started to leave and I stopped to just say goodbye. He thanked me for talking to him because he is used to being ignored in his old age. He said it made his day to know there were nice people out there. All I did was smile, and have small talk with him for at the most 2 minutes. Think about what your smile could do for someone…”
