Who do you give it to and who do you deny it to? – E14

Who do you say „good morning” to and who don’t you say it to? Why do we say “hello” to people when walking on a mountain trail but not while walking in a park in a city? Welcome to the next episode of “8 minutes to success”.

Listen to “14 – Who do you give it to and who do you deny it to?” on Spreaker.

Transcript

Who do you say „good morning” to and who don’t you say it to? Why do we say “hello” to people when walking on a mountain trail but not while walking in a park in a city?

Welcome to the next episode of “8 minutes to success”.

This is the podcast 8 Minutes to Success. I’m Kinga Panufnik and I invite you to spend the next 8 minutes with me.

On my way to success I’ve learnt a lot from others. That is why I’d like to share my personal experience with you.

Welcome.

I flew on a plane recently and when we landed, everybody was leaving the plane one by one. At the exit the flight attendants were saying “goodbye” and so was the pilot. He said “thank you” and “have a nice time”. My first surprise was that the pilot thanked his passengers but hardly any passenger said “thank you” to him or to the flight attendants.

I went down the stairs onto the ground and I saw two buses waiting for us. I got one of them and I observed the rest of the passengers, the airport staff and everything around me. When the last passenger left the plane, the pilot warned him to mind the step and after that he offered his regards to all the workers below him like the bus drivers and technicians. I don’t know exactly what their role was however I found it very interesting. He said “hello” and he waved his hand at them. They replied with a respectful smile.

I looked at all of them and I realized how respect is a great leveler. I mean that if we respect others we don’t see ourselves as superior to them. When we respect people we don’t care about their profession or whether they earn more or less than us. If we feel good about ourselves we don’t need to show that we are more important, we don’t divide people into groups depending on whether we respect them or not. We feel equal as humans.

This situation at the airport reminded me of the times in my life when I stayed with my parents in my hometown. And the garbage workers were on strike, the people who collect our garbage from our houses. At the beginning of the strike all the people who were affected by the strike showed a very disrespectful attitude. Those of the top displayed  certain arrogance. The strike went on and on. And I forgot to mention that it was summer then. And after a while, we were surrounded by garbage, the bad smell of our waste was everywhere and people started to worry about hygienic matters, not to mention the thread of disease.

No matter what social status you are, your garbage smells bad. After the strike had gone on for a long time everybody in the city begged garbage workers to go back to work and even their bosses changed their tone of their discourse.

Since then I’ve been aware that whatever profession you are in you offer a service to everybody else. We do our jobs for each other. No matter what kind of job it is. It’s great that we all want to do different jobs because each one fulfills a vital function and affect us, both directly and indirectly.

A manager who runs a company, takes risks that other people are unwilling to take, but these managers create jobs for others. But they are no better than the cleaners who work in the same office because they all have their own important role to play. I don’t know if there is anyone who does a jobs that doesn’t affect others. I can’t think of anything.

It’s not about equality in terms of salary but about the amount of respect we show to each other. Diversity in salary reflects people’s skills, experience, professionalism, the risks they take, the level of stress and so on. There is no diversity in humanity. We are all equal on a fundamental level. Therefore we should respect each other.

It is the same with the social roles we play in our lives. Not only in terms of the jobs we do. No matter if you are a parent or a child, a grandma or a grandson. Whether you are a neighbor or a friend. All of us are equal in terms of respect. I know that we have a closer relationship with our family than just with acquaintances and we share our secrets with people who we trust rather than with people we don’t know. But respect should be equal to everybody.

In Poland, where I live, it’s customary that for people who are hiking in the mountain to say “hello” to those who they meet. No matter how old they are, or the language they speak. Everybody greets each other as if they were sharing their home – the mountains. Unfortunately, when the holiday is over and they come back to the city they become closed, self-oriented and they forget that they are also sharing this home – the city or the street.

Why is it possible to behave so respectful in the mountains but so hard to do it in our normal environments. Maybe we should all close our eyes and open our hearts and imagine we are hiking throughout our lives.

And a challenge for you for next week.

Try to look at everybody you meet next week, people you don’t know very well and you would normally just pass them by, try to look at them as if they were your mum or your grandma. Somebody you love very much. And at the same time try to see yourself as if you were a stranger to her. How would you like her to be treated by the stranger? With respect. I think so.

So when you imagine this, say “hello” to them or just share a smile, maybe you’d like to chat a little. Show your respect.

Try to do it the whole week. I wonder what observations you will make.

Try to rediscover your childlike sensitivity, behave like someone who doesn’t see divisions in the world, who doesn’t judge, who doesn’t try to seek personal advantage from situations. Respect people and you will get it back, from them and from the entire world.

That’s all for today. See you next time,

Bye, bye.

This was 8 Minutes to Success. If I’ve left you wanting more that’s great. It’s much healthier to stay a little hungry rather than eat too much and feel sick. I hope you will listen to my next episode. To avoid missing any I recommend that you sign up for the newsletter on my website www.8minutestosuccess.com and the next episode will be sent to your email straight from the production line. Don’t be afraid I won’t be bringing this out every day. Don’t forget to subscribe. Would also be nice to get some comments from you and if you feel it’s worthy you can share it with your friends.

Take care. Bye, bye.