"Be Nice" - A Guest Contribution
The following article was written by an extremely gifted and extremely intelligent friend of mine. The person wished to remain anonymous, and it was with reluctance that I agreed to that condition, but the person said that anonymity was the only way he or she would ever post on my livejournal. I confess, I changed the opening statement of this article a little bit. The person had written that their article was not “profound” and required “as little intellect as humanly possible”. I disagree. What it takes to really understand and act upon the charges of this article takes almost more than what is humanly possible. Yet, some people, like the person who wrote this, manage to do it daily. The charge placed upon each reader of this article is simple, yet profoundly difficult, but if any of us could act in such a way, I think we’d all see how much it would enrich our lives. I posted this incredible article in the hopes that at least one person who reads this would be inspired, and I thank the writer of this article for saying something that I could never say in such an amazing fashion. I hope these words can affect you as they’ve affected me.
-Niraj
"The following was written by a guest contributor"
All I’m asking is that you read this. You don’t have to agree, and you can completely forget about it after reading it if you choose to do so. However, my hopes are that you will take a minute to reflect on your life and your relationships and decide whether you are truly being the person you want to be.
Be nice. That’s it. If you are too lazy to read the rest of this journal entry, that pretty much sums up everything that follows.
It doesn’t matter how many trophies you have, how many awards you’ve won, how many colleges are recruiting you, or how many boys or girls you can get with. To me, the one thing that truly matters is how you will be remembered when you depart from this earth.
The human capacity for evil can drive people to be manipulative, two-sided, rude, or just plain mean. My challenge for you is to not let it get the best of you. Everyone feels insecure every now and then, and the most common way to make yourself feel better is to criticize someone else. Bad idea. It hurts. I say this from personal experience. It takes a while to discover true self confidence, but the most important thing is that you do not embark on that journey at the expense of others. Instead of betraying your peers on your quest for high self esteem, let them help you discover your most admirable attributes.
In return, help those around you realize true self esteem too. The smallest compliment that takes less than 10 seconds of your time can change someone’s whole outlook on life.
There are so many sayings such as “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”, along with the Golden Rule. These are the clichés that will never get old and never lose value. You might not be able to change the world, but you can make a difference in the lives of those around you. And just by giving a few compliments here and there, being a good listener, and keeping the trust of your peers sacred, you will realize that you, too, will change for the better.
Some people say that “nice guys always finish last.” I’m not arguing that. But at least those “nice guys” will have something to be proud of when they finally cross the finish line.
-Niraj
"The following was written by a guest contributor"
All I’m asking is that you read this. You don’t have to agree, and you can completely forget about it after reading it if you choose to do so. However, my hopes are that you will take a minute to reflect on your life and your relationships and decide whether you are truly being the person you want to be.
Be nice. That’s it. If you are too lazy to read the rest of this journal entry, that pretty much sums up everything that follows.
It doesn’t matter how many trophies you have, how many awards you’ve won, how many colleges are recruiting you, or how many boys or girls you can get with. To me, the one thing that truly matters is how you will be remembered when you depart from this earth.
The human capacity for evil can drive people to be manipulative, two-sided, rude, or just plain mean. My challenge for you is to not let it get the best of you. Everyone feels insecure every now and then, and the most common way to make yourself feel better is to criticize someone else. Bad idea. It hurts. I say this from personal experience. It takes a while to discover true self confidence, but the most important thing is that you do not embark on that journey at the expense of others. Instead of betraying your peers on your quest for high self esteem, let them help you discover your most admirable attributes.
In return, help those around you realize true self esteem too. The smallest compliment that takes less than 10 seconds of your time can change someone’s whole outlook on life.
There are so many sayings such as “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”, along with the Golden Rule. These are the clichés that will never get old and never lose value. You might not be able to change the world, but you can make a difference in the lives of those around you. And just by giving a few compliments here and there, being a good listener, and keeping the trust of your peers sacred, you will realize that you, too, will change for the better.
Some people say that “nice guys always finish last.” I’m not arguing that. But at least those “nice guys” will have something to be proud of when they finally cross the finish line.