Personal Development and the Polite Person

The following article is from the new book, Getting Personal: A Guide to Personal Development by author and speaker, John Patrick Hickey.  To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.  

Success-minded people practice good manners and respectful behavior as a way of life. They understand that the Biblical command to “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31) is more than a religious saying. The way that we treat others will be the way that we are treated by others. When you are uncaring and rude, you will find that others seem to be uncaring and rude towards you. When you are kind and respectful, others act kindly towards you.

As with all of these character qualities, respectful behavior is nothing more than thinking of others first. There is a theme here, if you haven’t caught it yet: all good character qualities come from how we act and live with our fellow humans. For those who choose to act badly and

mistreat others, they will face the consequences of their choice. So it is with those who work at being the best person they can be: those who be kind and care for others will live a life of peace and positive results.

Yes, we will always have rude and nasty people in the world who desire to make the lives of others miserable, but that does not mean you have to be one of them.

While all of these character qualities take a decisive effort to achieve, having good manners is the one that really can take the least effort. It does not take a lot of work to be respectful and kind. Follow a few simple steps, and you can exercise the very best of manners. The Algerian Statesman, Lakhdar Brahimi gives these simple instructions: “Be modest, be respectful of others, and try to understand.”

People may not always notice good manners, but they do like to be around people who display them. We all feel better when we know that we are treated with respect and have been given the dignity we deserve as people. Think about this: when someone thanks you for a kindness you have done, how do you react? Many will say, “It was nothing,” or “That is okay,” but if the person does not thank us and just walks away or acts like they were owed the kindness, we feel very differently. That is because we do not mind doing a kindness for those who appreciate it. We do, however, mind when it is taken for granted and not appreciated.

Success-minded people should be the most respectful and polite people around. Not only because they have respect for others, but because they have respect for themselves. When we show good manners we are saying that we care about how we live and how we treat those we live with. People who have a high respect for themselves are less likely to display bad behavior in their public and personal lives, and will always do the best they can at whatever task they face.

Success-minded people also understand that there is nothing that can bring success in the work place faster than good manners. Customer service requires good manners in every area of encounter. It takes good manners to answer the phone properly, deal with complaints, answer questions and take an order. The best customer service training that a company can invest

in would be a course in good and proper manners.

To discover how you can achieve the dream you have believed was impossible for too long, read Getting Personal: A Guide to Personal Development by John Patrick Hickey.  You can get a signed copy for yourself and get one for a friend, by going to http://www.johnpatrickhickey.com/it-is-good-to-set-goals-better-to-achieve-then/.  Now available on Kindle, Oops! Did I Really Post That? Online Etiquette in the Digital Age by John Patrick Hickey.

© 2016 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this may be reprinted or published without permission of the author.