#71 Busy or bad day? Like Grandpa said, your response is your responsibility.

Your Grandpa may not have said that to you, but it’s true. All too often we get going so fast that we tend to not see too far past ourselves. This often leads to us being a bit short, forgetful, or just obviously not present in a conversation or meeting. If you are having a crazy or even a bad day, YOU are in control of how that affects your interactions, whether they be with co-workers, clients, strangers, family or the FedEx guy. Does it really take that much extra energy to smile, write a simple greeting with your message, take a breath or be cordial? On the flip side, if you don’t take the time to be polite, the damage control could be way harder to deal with.

We are all guilty of this from time to time, so here are three things to think about:

1) At work, tell your co-workers if you are stressed out or having a bad day, mainly so your bad juju doesn’t mess with the environment and people know you’re aware of your ‘tude. Oftentimes, letting people know helps you relax and get over what’s bugging you.

2) Even if you are in a hurry, you have time to add a friendly greeting or signature to your emails. In fact, you could make a couple templatized greetings or signatures to help you stay in the green.

3) Smile. Look at someone in the eyes. Put your iPhone away. Just take a minute to really listen, hear and cordially respond back.

I’m not saying you can’t have a bad day, but treating others with respect is always the right thing to do.