Communication comes from the inside out, whether we like it or not. It lets people know what’s really going on inside of us, no matter how good our facade is.
I recently posted this on Facebook:
Michelle Zavala got bumped from behind while in traffic. Fortunately, no damage to car, only to a very upset 16-year-old who just kept saying, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” Tried to calm her down, telling her that everyone’s done it at least once and if they said they didn’t, they probably weren’t telling the truth, heh.
My heart went out to her as I remembered my first fender-bender. It was in the high school parking lot, and I was an absolute mess about it. Fortunately, the guy whose car I hit was pretty calm. That made it all a little easier to take.
This girl was a bit of a mess too, and I wanted to be sure I didn’t upset her any more. I kept things light (and yes, I took her information, just in case). She gave me her number and asked that I call her first if any damage showed up. I said sure but unless something fell off of my car, I probably wouldn’t need to call. She seemed relieved and said, “Thank you for being so nice about all this, thank you so much.”
I said, “No problem” then got into my car. I wondered, was I really that nice? Or was I just being a decent human being?
After my status update I asked, “When was your first fender-bender?” I received a lot of comments from Facebook friends telling their stories (thus proving my comment that we’ve all done it!). One person said there wasn’t any damage to the cars but the guy made a big deal out of it.
That got me thinking. We’re all only one deep breath away from being kind or being “that guy” (a gender-neutral term).
You know “that guy.” It’s the person who had a bad day at work or has screaming kids in the car and wants to take it out on you.
“That guy” is the jerk who makes a big deal out of the most insignificant thing.
“That guy” is the person who speaks before thinking and is clueless about how foolish his or her behavior looks to others.
“That guy” is the person actively seeking out a reason to rant, rave, turn red in the face and be nasty for no particular reason.
You don’t want to be “that guy,” do you?
Then don’t do it. Next time the option to be “that guy” presents itself, take a deep breath and let it out slowly before you speak. You’ll be glad you did.
Wishing you a refreshing and productive day, without any run-ins with “that guy.”
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