Editorial: Little things that help me and subliminally affects others

When a person encounters me, there are certain things I say or do with them and I do it for a specific reason. These are traits of my personality that help me along my day, but also subliminally helps others, especially the younger generation. I started these because I was coaching, and I continue doing these things to this day because they also help me have a better day and keep my memory fresh but at the same time, teaches lessons to others even though they’re not recognizing it. So, I thought I’d share a few things with you to make your day brighter (and for those who personally know me, you will see a lot of familiar things.)

The first thing that I do is when I see a student or younger adult, I call them “Mr. or Miss”. In today’s society, there haven’t been a lot of classes on etiquette and the simple use of the term can make a lot of difference. When I coached, I also said that because there were many students with the same first name. By calling them by their last name it also triggered my memory of their first name. Finally, I never responded to the students if they called me by my first name until they graduated. The reason that I did this is because in order to make an impression with someone you may or may not know, you have to get their level of respect. I am not ignoring that person, but rather having them see that something so little can have a big impact.

The next thing many people who have interacted with me see that I do is inverting my greetings. For example, if it’s the afternoon/evening I may tell them “good morning.” While those people may give me funny looks, I tell them that my day is just starting. The reason why I have gotten into this habit is because it helps teach a level on perspective. Not everybody works a day shift and there are some people who usually starts their day around 6 or 7 p.m. By me developing that habit, it has showed others that while we may see the world as one way working on one timeline, others do not and that somewhere in the world, it really is the morning time.

Finally, the third thing I do is when I speak to the young-at-heart, I will address them as “young man” or “young lady.” You will be surprised how those few words can quickly turnaround a day for those people. Just saying those words and seeing that reaction as a jolt of energy hit them is something that can’t be taken for granted and the smiles afterwards become contagious to send vibes throughout the day.

So, those are just a few of the tricks of what I do as a person. They help me out personally and you can see how it can bounce from one person to another and allow them to see a different outlook of a situation. There are many more tricks I do to better myself as a person that also helps others, but I can’t share all of them just yet. Instead, do the things that have a positive affect on you and others, no matter the age.