Welcome to Day 22 of #LoveBlog! Today’s prompt is Little Things. Yesterday’s prompt was Physical Touch if you want to join that link-up. Find all the other prompts!
When my twin brother and I were teenagers, our mom dragged us to some motivational speaking event by one of her bosses, Mr. Dolny. I was honestly bored out of my mind for most of it, and even my mom admitted that Mr. Dolny hadn’t adapted his original presentation very well to be teen-friendly. I’ve forgotten every single point from the speech except for one.
The difference between mediocrity and excellence is very small.
I paraphrase, but that was the gist of it. To illustrate his point, Mr. Dolny shared this example.
A business traveler stays at a hotel. She orders her breakfast in advance for room service: cereal with strawberries. In the morning, the staff member preparing this breakfast notices the strawberries are spoiled, but the bananas look good. He has three choices.
- Send up the breakfast with the strawberries. The business traveler receives spoiled strawberries and is upset at the poor service.
- Send up the breakfast with the bananas. The business traveler doesn’t receive the strawberries as requested and is upset at the poor service.
- Call the business traveler’s room and explain the situation. Offer to substitute the bananas. The business traveler receives bananas and is happy at the excellent service.
That phone call takes maybe a minute, but it’s the difference between mediocrity and excellence.
While the presentation related to the workplace, the message equally applies to relationships. Sometimes the little things make all the difference.
If your best friend calls or send you a long email, and you’re completely swamped, don’t just ignore her. Take a minute to write a quick email or text message back. Ask if you two can catch up at a later date when you’re not so busy. This will only take a minute, but your best friend will feel heard instead of ignored.
Is your spouse using the car tomorrow? On the way home from work or your errands, fill up the car with gas. It’s one less thing for your spouse to need to do.
I have one Facebook secret that I think makes a difference. When someone announces their big news, like getting into grad school or moving to a new country, don’t just like or comment on that post. Write a separate post on your friend’s Facebook wall, or even send your friend a private message on Facebook. This one extra step will make your joyful comment stand out from the rest!
Finally, the most important difference: your attitude matters. Is your spouse stressed out? Offer to do the dishes or provide a back massage. However, if you do so begrudgingly, your offer loses value. When you make kind-hearted gestures, do them willingly, and not out of obligation.
I know it can be hard to build and to maintain relationships. Sometimes just the smallest effort is what makes all the difference.
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What little things help your relationships? Share your ideas in the comments below!
So true! Watching my parents marriage growing up I learned that. My mom every Saturday when she would come home from work would bring home cherry Danishes for my dad because those were his favourite, or how my dad makes sure the kitchen is cleaned before my mom gets home because she hates walking in the door to a dirty kitchen. These take small amounts of money or effort but I could always tell they appreciated the gestures!
No truer words were written…take a moment to do something little or acknowledge someone and they will feel heard as you said or appreciated. Great points for all the relationships in our life!
Today’s prompt is probably my favorite! Little things are why I blog. This is sort of related to your customer service example, but one thing I love when I order things from independent companies and Etsy shops online is when the owner/crafter signs the receipt with a little note or even includes a signed business card. It’s becoming more common but I find it such a nice personal touch.
Attitude is definitely everything. There have been times where someone has done something for me with a sour attitude, and I would have rather them not do anything at all. Bad attitude spoils everything.
I love this. It’s so true that the little things add up. And when you think about it, they don’t take that much more time or effort but they make all the difference. I love that strawberry/banana analogy. And attitude definitely makes a huge difference.
This is so spot on! The little things are the difference between good and great!