Smile! Have a Great Day!

I have been told on more than one occasion that I am "a nice girl". It's true, I am nice. I go out of my way to be nice to people and I hope I make at least one person smile each and every day. I was thinking about this today at work after I gave a co-worker a compliment and told her that she does a great job and that is why she is perfect for her job. Yesterday I sent someone an e-mail to thank them for helping out one of my staff. It is important to me to let people know that I see the little things and I appreciate them (I certainly appreciate knowing the things I do count in this life) .

Now don't get me wrong..I am not perfect and I do get angry with people when they seem to be acting stupid to me (like while driving, or standing with their shopping cart in the middle of the isle etc.) but I really do try to keep that in check. When I find myself angry or frustrated I really have to slow down and force myself to try and see all sides of the situation so I can get my perspective back (I generally look at everything from all angles). Once I have done that I feel better.

Ok...so the point of this is that being nice really does take a lot of energy ..I am always the one to compromise, the one to look at things from the others perspective, the one to "watch" how I word something or spend an extra 10 minutes writing an e-mail so someone doesn't interpret it wrong. Sometimes it is exhausting and I just say to myself..."Who cares? Send the e-mail as you say it ...It's their problem if they take it wrong!" or "F*** You if you don't like it". Those sentiments don't last long though...I can't intentionally or knowingly be mean, or hurt someones feelings because I always have the need to do the right thing even if I hurt in the end. Sometimes I want to say something to a person and I don't because it's just easier to take the high road and leave things alone.

Now this doesn't mean I am a pushover, I can and do stand up for myself and my beliefs, but I guess it does mean that I only choose battles that need to be fought. SO...is it good to be the "nice girl?" Well, labels can always have different meanings and I think a label in any sense tends to bring a bit of a negative connotation to it. I guess it depends on who is calling me "a nice girl" as well. If my elderly patient refers to me that way it is different than if it is some cute guy I have a crush on says it to me. Based on all I have said here I admit I am nice and will take it as a compliment from whoever calls me that. (oh..and I'll never admit if there is another "N" word that fits too) LOL