My wife has stage fright, she freeze up when asked to speak in front of many people. According to her she wasn't like that before. In fact she used to be very fond of participating in class recitations and make it a point to raise her hand every time she knows the answer. Somehow something happened along the way. One time she spoke a little too softly and the teacher embarrassed her with not-so-nice words in full earshot of the entire classroom. It was downhill from there on. The trauma and scar remains to this day.
By the way that happened some 30 years ago. So what's the point of bringing this issue up after all these years? Who knows where the teacher is right now and I guess it was something she must had forgotten or taken for granted a long, long time ago. But the scar of that one nasty comment is still very much alive. You see, everything we do or say just might have a direct impact on others. A lot of them we just never get to know it (or never care to). A nasty comment coming at the most inappropriate time, a pat on the back in a most sensitive moment, an encouraging word in a most downtime or a douse of cold water in the heat of passion might scarred a person's mind set for his/her entire life. Get a chance to talk to people in-depth and almost all of us has this one little unforgettable feeling of high or low that was given/said to him which we simply shrugged aside as “Hey, that was a long time ago.”
Let's be careful of what we do and say to others, especially our tongue which in moment of extreme anger can be from ugly to downright nasty. We just can never tell. That's why it is of most of extreme importance to subscribe to the rule “If you have nothing good to say, just keep quiet and don't say anything.” On the other hand, one kind deed, one soothing word (or even one simple smile or thank you) given at the right time just might rev-up a person's confidence and turn his life around.
As we all know by now, Money talks and these little gestures are even considered obsolete already. We hear people outside saying “I need cash, not compliments!”. Yet there are still so many out there (almost all in fact) who have low self-worth on certain aspect in life (you can never know from the façade they are putting up) that one appreciative little deed and a simple kind word which when struck on the proper nerve chord can restore their trust on people. Nobody is spared in this, the rich, the poor and the wise. How many times had we forgot (or just too proud) to say the word “thank you” or “sorry”? We almost shrugged them off as “no big deal”. Believe me, it's a big deal. Try appreciating people (especially the little details others always take for granted) and watch them respond to you.
One of the nicest feeling in the world is when you see someone who is always casted as tough or unemotional warmed up to you because you knew you just did something beautiful and right. Of course not to mention that you just added an ally on your side.
