TO BE NICE OR NOT TO BE NICE-A CANADIAN QUESTION

Choosing how to live is a choice not a personality trait genetically programmed at birth! The English word nice has several meanings- pleasant, agreeable, satisfactory, good- natured, requiring careful thought or attention, and delicately sensitive. ( Thank you Oxford English Dictionary) Yes, one's family can have an influence on all of us. Some very happy nice people have miserable family members, I get it. How we approach the world can be ours alone! When we act nice something begins to happen. So what is nice? What does it means to you? Watching what we say and curbing our words to reflect more positive thoughts actually takes a lot more effort than just being bitchy and saying hurtful things. Being thoughtful to others. Saying honest compliments. Acting like a nice person to be around. For example, there are days when I arrive at work, I am tired, wishing it was the weekend but I put on my game face- my nice face and act like I want to be there. Greeting others nicely. Of course there are times to be assertive and challenge ideas but in a nice way. Not nasty. You see I made a choice many years ago to try to be as nice as I could most of the time. I looked at the miserable people of the world deciding that was not for me. However just because I am nice does not mean I trust everyone and think their motives are always honourable. Being nice does not mean one is stupid! Being nice does not mean my thoughts are always nice! But I keep them to myself or share with trusted friends or family members! I believe I was nice in my childhood and youth to be liked and win others' approval. Not anymore when I choose to be nice, I think it was in my early 20s- it was because I wanted to live my life loving myself and those around me. It is hard when I have to confront someone or even yelling at my children when they were little and now sometimes my grandchildren-especially if they want to venture into an activity that could harm them. So I ask the question, do some people just choose to be miserable and think it is okay! Me first, who cares about the world! Even those with Mental Health issues who struggle daily can have varied personalities. For example, I have known some with clinical depression who are nice and try so hard to face the day's events! Canadians generally are supposed to be nice. So perhaps I wanted to be one to help carry the torch and wave the flag of niceness! For the sake of the country! I have known so many nice people in my life- teachers, friends, work mates, family, neighbours and even nice kind strangers that saved the day! So to be nice or not to nice that is the question? If you read my blog regularly, I know what your answer will be don't I!!!!