People

Good morning all. This time slot is fast becoming the best time for me to write. I guess it's because I'm wound up right after getting off work. As the title of this post suggests, today I'm going to ramble about getting along with people. In my younger days, when people agitated me it usually meant fists were gonna fly. I had the worst temper in the world. Thanks to a lot of work on my part, and my wife's patience, I'm no longer a serious physical threat to people. One thing I had to learn was to accept people with all their traits. Having said that, it is my belief that everyone has something wrong with them. Think about it. How many times in your life have you met someone and thought,"She's a cool person, except she complains too much", or "She would be a model if she lost two pounds". Even the people you think the world of have something wrong with them; you just don't know what it is or you don't want to know. It's just easier not looking for it and getting on with life. Some of my friends have been singled out as having a character or physical flaw at some point, heck we all have. As it is, I'm known to get along with almost anybody nowadays. Since I'm also a good listener, I also hear a lot of people's deepest thoughts and desires. I'm not saying go out and make friends with the rudest person you know, I'm just saying you shouldn't be so quick to write someone off because they don't fit your exact specifications. The most important thing I did to be better around people was to shelve the perfectionist in me. It wasn't easy, but I managed to do it by 1) not setting these ridiculously high expectations of people, 2) NOT listening to someone's judgement of a person before getting to know them, 3) treating everyone with common respect, 4) listening to a person, I mean really listening to them talk, and 5) observing their actions in different situations ( how they treat people, how they act in good and bad times, etc.). This isn't in any order and some of you will find one more important than another. These aren't even all the ways I use to get along with folks, but they are certainly some big ones. Some things go without saying, like not going around telling someone's business after they just told you. If you can't be trusted with even the most mundane information, you'll be the person no one wants to be around. One final note on getting along with people; STOP BEING PETTY. I can't count how many times someone has complained to me about someone else they have a problem with because thay have a wort on their hand or they have a high voice or some other nonsense. There are more important things to worry about. Hi-Lo.