Scene 1:
You are day dreaming as you stroll aimlessly through a parking lot. Your eyes glimpse forward and shout down at your feet to pick up the pace. You awkwardly accelerate as you discover you’re on borrowed time.
A friendly fellow 17 yards ahead patiently holds the door open. You arrive and your mouth earnestly says “thank you”. A quickened pace helps to confirm your sincerity.
Scene 2:
Repeat the same scene from above but change the distance from 17 yards to 4 feet. Your pace doesn’t quicken and your muffled “thanks” lands on deaf ears.
What really changed? Both situations involve a stranger holding a door open for us when he didn’t have to. Yet our gratitude is much greater the first time.
A 1,200 pound door aside, the stranger really doesn’t exert a ton of extra effort in either scenario . The thing that really changed was our expectations. We don’t expect someone 17 yards ahead to hold the door open. Yet it’s probably rude if they don’t from 4 feet behind.
—
Expectations are a tricky chameleon. They’re the reason you reminisce about the stranger who bought you a cup of joe a week ago, yet forget your parents treated you to dinner within an hour’s time.
Who cares right? This isn’t exactly ground breaking insight.
The real question: Are you busy buying the car behind you a cup of coffee or complaining about the rude person who couldn’t hold the door?
We live in a world of preconceived expectations. Rise above those expectations and you’re on your path to something remarkable. It’s easy to be a parking lot stroller who casts judgement. However, the newly appointed doorman knows he wields the power to make a vagabond shuffle.
Sometimes being remarkable only takes a few more seconds.
Just don’t forget to say thanks for dinner.
Photo credit: Ivydesert
