The Joy of a Child, Post #3

This week in positive people watching experiences I noticed an adorable trend, kids. I have seen many families and individuals out with young children lately. They have been out shopping, eating, or going to classes. The joy that kids bring to everyone around them is spectacular. I will recall three encounters that I noticed this week.

                The first instance of these lovely young ones bringing joy to others was while I was walking through the halls at Delta. Farther down the hall I saw a man and a kid about three years old. As they were walking the man would pick the child up in the air and place them back down. The child was so happy to be playing with the man and giggled up a storm. Not only the man but everyone around had a huge smile. Not to mention that the child’s hair was so big and cute that just that alone would make anyone smile.

                On Saturday I had gone to the mall with one of my friends. While we were their we repeatedly ran into the same group, two men and a young girl probably two years of age. The men were taking turns carrying her in their arms and holding her hand while she walked. Later on, when we ran into the same group, we saw that the men had got her one of those push cars that she could sit in while they shopped. The little cutie and her family were so endearing to see.

                Finally, today me and my same friend had gone out to get lunch and saw an adorable woman and girl sitting together. The kid was between six and seven years old. They were sitting at a high table with stools and drinking from those big coffee cups. Those big cups are comically large for most people, but especially for such a small girl. She would lift the cup to her lips and the cup would cover half of her face. The girl and the woman seemed to be having a really good time together. They left fairly soon after I had arrived, and the girl seemed very excited to go to their next location.

                These little events really made my week. Seeing so many happy people having good times with each other is really uplifting. Kids seem to have a very positive effect on those around them. I am not sure why. Maybe it’s because they are happy and don’t care who sees it. Maybe it’s because they haven’t seen much of the hard parts of life. I feel like seeing these little ones reminds us of when we felt the same as they do. Hopefully we can all try to focus on that little kid joy in our own lives. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.

Appreciate the Small Things, Post #2

I find that we often over look the little things people do. Things like holding doors, saying have a good day, and even a simple smile. Do you remember having people do these things for you? It gives everyone a good feeling. Something so simple that takes little to no effort. People do this more than you think.

            This may be just me, but if someone holds open the door for me my day improves significantly. I have seen so many people check over their shoulder before going out a door to see if they need to hold it for someone. Just in this last week there were multiple times people held the door for me. I specifically liked it when there are two doors, so I could return the favor. It’s so simple and that’s why I, and others, sometimes overlook it. We shouldn’t though. Holding doors may be simple but if we pay more attention then it can boost our days even more.

            This also applies to greetings. Walking into a business and being greeted with a genuine “hello” or “how are you” is the best. It raises spirits and gives you a connection to the individual. When I was going to high school I would always get gas at a specific gas station. It was on my way but there was another one right next to it. I would always choose this one though because of the lady who worked there. She was so sweet and always so happy to greet anyone who walked in. She had the biggest smile I have ever seen a worker have. I always left there feeling better than when I arrived.

            I personally believe that smiling can make you happier, even if you don’t mean it. The question is does it make others happier too? I honestly think it does. Seeing someone have a genuinely great time can make me so happy that I can’t help but smile. Maybe it is a group of people hanging out and laughing, or someone just having a fantastic day, both make me happy to see. Same goes for the little smiles people share while passing in the halls. You know the smile I am talking about. The smile you do when both of you have made eye contact and can’t just look away without feeling rude. It may be a forced smile but it still says something very important. You care. Now don’t get me wrong you don’t have to smile to everyone you pass. All I am saying is that these little smiles connect us to others and we get to share a moment with them that is a mutual experience. Sometimes that all your day needs for that little boost.

            This week I would like to challenge us all to take just one more second to appreciate these little things more deeply. Maybe even try to do these things more yourself. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.

Why I Started this Blog, Post #1

                You get back home from a day out. There were many people and lots of different interactions you had with those people: some good, some bad, and lots of neutral. You call up your best friend or talk to whoever is home. What do you tell them about your day? Often people fall into the habit of talking about that one guy in line that was being ridiculous, and the lady who doesn’t know how to “parent”, and that person that cut them off in traffic. Negative news always seems to be on our minds. That is why I decided to write about positive people watching.

                Positive people watching is all about watching for the good things people do instead of the bad. We all have bad days or for some reason can’t seem to handle a discussion correctly. I want to challenge my thinking and everyone else’s to start seeing the good things more and bring attention to how much negativity we spread. Our outlook on the world can change dramatically by making intentional choices to be better. I do not believe that people simply are who they are. We make ourselves. We can make ourselves into who we want to be and not who is easy to be. It is easy to fall back into old habits. It is easy to be negative. It is easy to quit. Focusing and changing one part of yourself at a time leads to the creation of a new you.

For me I will start with recreating my view of the world. I don’t want to always expect the worst of people, or have my mind filled by constant nagging negative thoughts that leave me with a feeling of isolation. There are so many people in this world, each with their own troubles and joys. To judge them with one look is like looking outside and assuming it’s always raining. People are beautifully complicated. That is what makes positive people watching so amazing. You are purposely watching for the full person and not only their gloomy clouds. People as a whole are good. I intentionally chose to believe this. Call me optimistic but I would rather be optimistic and be proven wrong then to be pessimistic and be proven right.

I hope you all will enjoy hearing positive people watching experiences for the upcoming weeks. You may even start to see it more in your own life. I sincerely wish everyone a lovely day.