John

I don’t really consider myself to be an old-school individual, but there is something that tends to be lacking in many people that are growing up today which they would do well to include in their lifestyle. I’m talking about simple manners, a problem that is increasingly disappearing and it doesn’t seem to be improving in any way. The simple fact of the matter is, good manners can get you pretty far in this life and those that use them still tend to get a little bit further than those that don’t.

Of course, I’m not discussing returning to a time whenever manners were an absolute way of life, those days have long since gone. What I am talking about, however, is a little bit of common courtesy they can be shown from one individual to another. At times, these are things that tend to be missing between people who are intimately familiar with each other and at other times, it is something that is missing between strangers. Here are a few places where I tend to see that manners have disappeared completely.

One of the first things that you may notice whenever you are looking for some manners in other people is that they tend to be lacking at the checkout line. Many of the people that work at grocery stores and other locations where people were constantly being checked out tend to simply gloss over some of the simple manners that could be shown as a matter of courtesy. A good example of this is not chewing gum, which is probably one of the more rude things that can be done in this type of position. I have to admit, it is difficult for me to stand in line and to face the individual that is chomping away on their gum whenever they are trying to ring me up at the register.

Another thing that has become an increasing problem as far as manners are concerned is over use of the cell phone. This is something that far too many people have a difficulty with, and it seems as though you cannot be in a public place without somebody talking away on their cell phone as if nobody else is around. The unfortunate thing is, this is not even considered rude by today’s standards but just a few short years ago, it would’ve really been frowned upon by many people in this situation.

A simple shift back to some of the more common forms of pleasantries, such as saying please or thank you can really go a long way. Many people, even those that don’t commonly choose this type of courtesy will appreciate the fact that you use it regularly. Along with that, simply acknowledging people as they walk by is something that tends to be lost. Although this is not going to be appropriate in every situation, there are times when ever a simple nod or an acknowledging smile can mean the difference between you being friendly or simply blending into the crowd.