A car cuts in front of you. Another one doesn’t stop at a red light and speeds through the crossing. Someone pushes ahead of you at the supermarket checkout. Someone doesn’t greet you. A person is surly, uncommunicative, and rude. This is how it often goes.
So, what makes a difference in dealing with people? How can things run more smoothly in your day?
Understanding, kindness, good manners, and etiquette are key to diffusing tense situations. Someone recently told me a story about a tenant who was giving him a hard time. After taking a moment to reflect, he decided to approach the situation more gently. The result? The tenant’s attitude shifted, and the tension vanished almost overnight.
Manners, courtesy, and etiquette are crucial in our daily interactions—or confrontations—with life.
Some people seem to glide through life, effortlessly smoothing their way through any situation. Often, you’ll find that these individuals are well-versed in manners and courtesy. Perhaps it’s their upbringing, or maybe they’ve learned the hard way. We all have lapses—one day, you might calmly let someone cut in front of you on the road or in a line, and other days, it makes your blood boil. That’s life. Some days, you shrug off the chaos and dance your way through it.
If someone hasn’t learned manners at a young age, it’s likely going to be an uphill battle. But it’s never too late to learn. And it can make a world of difference. I’m not here to teach manners—far from it. I need to learn more myself. But I do know that manners, courtesy, and etiquette help smooth out the rough edges of daily interactions.
