Positivity
It's always a good idea to be positive and stay happy. If everybody is happy and everybody is positive than what could go wrong? As a young girl, my mother would always tell me as she drove me to school, "always be a gentlewoman." Due to what my mother told me, I would always try my best to be a gentlewoman, this includes smiling all the time, saying please and thank you, holding the door and much more. Acting in such ways can make things seem better around you, from how people act in your presence to the overall feeling of being so positive and helpful in others daily lives.
Smiling is crucial, it portrays emotion and puts off an overall sense of good feeling. I have noticed over time that if people are smiling around you it makes you more susceptible to smiling yourself. While walking the halls in school, I would always have a nice smile on my face, people that make eye contact with me would start to smile as well. Seeing people start to mimic my smile brings a good feeling. If a person were walking passed me that didn't have to great of a day and saw me they would start to smile remembering that I'm always smiling. Every time I see my mother frowning I tell her, "Frowning gives you wrinkles" this was to get her to smile more; I tell people to smile more every chance I get. Overall, smiling is a good thing and can up people's moods just by doing that one simple act. A smile can go a long way.
A simple phrase, "Thank you." Can mean all the difference. Saying thank you after someone has done something for you may give that person a sense of importance. Being told thank you after doing a good deed is positive reinforcement. I say thank you every chance I get and I notice that it almost always brings a good response. "Please" is another phrase that should always be used when the opportunity arises. Saying please can make someone feel more obligated to do what is asked. It is also just common courtesy to say please, it is the right thing to do. A real gentleman will always use the two phrases, "Please" and "Thank you."
When someone holds the door for me it does not go unnoticed. Holding the door is a simple act that I appreciate very much. I witness this action all the time being on a college campus. Whenever I hold the door I almost always get a kind response and a smile, which as I said before, can go a long way. Whenever someone holds the door for me I always say thank you which is good for people to hear because it reinforces their act of holding the door.
Remembering what my mom told me before school every day, "Be a gentleman" makes me continue to do all the positive actions I have mentioned in this writing. I continuously smile at everyone around me making them more prone to smile. I continue to say "Please" and "Thank you" every time the words apply and it frequently brings a great response. One of the other many things I do to live up to being a gentlewoman like my mother wants is holding the door for people, this helps show courtesy and is just a good thing to do all around. As one can see, acting like a gentleman can effect affectople around you and it is evident in their actions.
Awesome article