It's nice to be nice

"Manners maketh man" as the saying goes, whether a smoothly-delivered one-liner by Colin Firth in Kingsman or the motto of a 13 Century Former Chancellor of England!

When I first met my husband and his family almost 20 years ago, I was instantly drawn to the value they placed as a family on being considerate, kind and polite. "It's nice to be nice" is a family motto and my husband takes great delight in spreading the word about this way of being in the world on a regular basis!

However Brigette Hyacinth's article (linked below) reinforces a really important point about manners - being nice does not mean being weak.

Yes, like any strength, too much of a good thing may not serve us well. We're human beings, highly tuned to pick up when things don't appear as they seem. So if someone's being too nice they may appear sycophantic, fawning or submissive. The behaviour may raise questions about the person like "What do they really want?" or "What do they really think?" as well as triggering possible feelings of "less than" in ourselves.

The good news is, as Brigette clearly identifies, 'tough' and 'nice' don't have to be incompatible.

In addition to being considerate, kind and polite, my husband tensions this with determination, courage, strength and a healthy dose of willingness to challenge!

So let's dial up the kindness with Brigette's seven top tips, because..... it's nice to be nice!

1. Be considerate

2. Smile at a colleague

3. Mind your manners

4. Show appreciation

5. Listen more

6. Offer support and help

7. Treat everyone with the same level of respect

Read Brigette's article here - https://brigettehyacinth.com/its-nice-to-be-important-but-its-more-important-to-be-nice-2/