The Brochure on Good Energy

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A simple compliment from a stranger about my "nice energy" sparked this heartfelt exploration of how kindness shapes our world. When someone acknowledged the very quality I'm always cultivating, it validated a philosophy I've built my adult life around: the transformative power of approaching others with compassion and positivity.

My journey toward kindness wasn't innate – it developed through life experiences. Working retail in my college years became an unexpected classroom for human connection. Facing difficult customers day after day, I discovered something profound: when I entered interactions expecting the worst, negativity inevitably followed. But when I consciously shifted my mindset to expect the best from each person, the entire dynamic transformed. Not every interaction became perfect, but the overall experience improved dramatically for everyone involved.

And then there was Princess Diana.  She became a powerful influence in my evolution. Watching her genuine compassion for others showed me what it meant to prioritize kindness in a way that changes lives. After her passing, I committed to carrying forward her example in my own interactions. This doesn't mean becoming a pushover – boundaries remain essential when facing truly inappropriate behavior. But choosing kindness as our default setting creates ripples we may never fully see. The world truly is what we make it, shaped by thousands of small interactions where we each decide what energy to bring. What kind of world are you helping to create today? Join the conversation on social media and share how you strive to positively impact others in your daily life. 

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Episode Transcript

Tracy (00:00):
The world is what we make it, and the world can only
be as good as we are in it.
Welcome to the Only ChildDiaries podcast.
I'm your host, Tracy Wallace.
Have you ever felt like youdidn't receive the how-to
brochure on life, that youdidn't get enough guidance about

(00:21):
major life issues?
So did I.
You don't have to be an onlychild to feel this way.
In my podcast, we'll exploresome of the best ways to better
navigate adulting, while doingso with humor and light.
Welcome everyone to the OnlyChild Diaries podcast.

(00:53):
Today, I'm going to talk aboutbeing nice.
Yes, being nice.
You know, today, actually, Iwas out and about and someone
that I don't know told me at theend of our exchange that I had
a nice energy, and then hewalked away, and I have to say

(01:18):
that that is what I strive forevery day.
I was very touched and veryappreciative and a little
shocked that a stranger wouldsay this to me, but this is what
I do strive for every day in mylife, and it has been for quite

(01:38):
a while, and so I was thrilledI really was, and it really it
made my day, it made my week,made my month uh, being nice.
So that's what I want to talkabout today is being nice,
having a good energy.
I kind of see it as the samething.

(02:13):
Philosophy is to try to be askind and as pleasant and as
patient as I can with otherpeople.
Now, do I always succeed atthis?
No, I don't, because sometimespeople are difficult, sometimes
people are challenging, let'sface it right.
So being nice is sometimes notalways possible.

(02:34):
I'm not always a pleasantperson.
Sometimes I'm hungry, sometimesI'm tired, sometimes I'm
frustrated.
And I admit, if people are justbeing stupid and that doesn't
mean that they're stupid,they're just being stupid then I
do have a hard time with that,because I can see when somebody

(02:58):
is just acting stupid and I havea very short fuse for that.
So again, I try with thosepeople, with everybody, I try to
be kind, I try to be patient, Itry to be sensitive to other
people's you know needs.

(03:18):
I guess you would say I try tobe thoughtful, I try to be
supportive, I try to be a goodcommunicator.
Sometimes, you know, peopledon't quite see the situation
for what it is and sometimes ithelps if you try to kind of boil
it down for them, right, if youtry to explain what is really

(03:43):
happening or you say, oh well,this is, you know, but there's a
fine line between doing thatand it being advice right.
Don't give advice where it'snot asked for or welcomed right,
there's a fine line there.
Asked for or welcomed right,there's a fine line there.

(04:06):
So sometimes you can overstepyour bounds as a stranger or
another person in this world.
Now, when did this start?
I wasn't always nice.
I wasn't born nice.
I mean, I didn't really havethat, I guess, philosophy in my
head.
I think the first time Irealized it was when I was

(04:28):
working in retail, and that'swhen I was in my, you know, 18,
19, through what?
30, when I had my own store, at30, when I had my own store,
but especially when I was like18 to 22 or so, I worked in a

(04:50):
department store part-time whileI was going to college and I
found sometimes that if I wentin with a negative attitude,
that I would get negativity back.
I mean a hundred percent, noquestions.
No, I would get negativity back.
It just was a given.
So what I tried to do andnobody taught me this, nobody

(05:14):
told me this, I just figuredthis out on my own and I decided
to try to do.
It was to go into work and justto have the best possible
opinion of everyone.
And if you've ever worked inretail, you know what I'm
talking about.
But if you haven't, for thoseof you that haven't worked in

(05:36):
retail, there's different levelsof retail.
There there's clothing andmakeup and hardware and
everything right.
There's all sorts of levels ofretail.
But I'm sure, like at adiscount store, maybe it's a
little bit harder and retail isnot what it was when I was back

(05:56):
in college.
I mean, retail is so differentand probably, oh, let's not
forget a grocery store, which Imean retail is so different and
probably, oh, let's not forget agrocery store.
But when I was working at adepartment store, and you know,
especially in the clothing areasand I think some people that

(06:18):
work in malls will agree with methat if you work in a clothing
store, people will come backwith things that they've
obviously worn.
People will come back withthings that don't have the price
tags on it or it's whatever,and they come back with ideas
like, oh no, I just don't likeit, or well, but you wore it,
you know, or you swam in it oryou, you know, we don't take
back underwear or whatever, andpeople can get so incensed that

(06:41):
the rules are that you know likeyou can't take back swimwear,
for instance, right, because ofhygiene issues.
Well, nobody can get as mad asa disgruntled retail customer If
you've ever worked in retail.
There's just certain times whenpeople are going to get ticked
off.
There's just certain times whenpeople are going to get ticked

(07:04):
off and so you have to try todeal with it with grace and love
and patience.

(07:26):
So when I went through a stringof bad days or weeks or months,
even maybe, when I had thecustomers from hell come in to
the store and I found myself so,so discouraged, I just tried to
have a really good attitudethat, okay, the next customer is
going to be great, the nextcustomer is going to be easy,
the next customer is going to bemy friend.
You know thoughts like that andI.
What I found was is that thecustomers turned out to be a lot
easier to deal with.

(07:47):
Now, was this always the case?
No, but in general, thecustomer, the customer
experience for me, dealing withpeople, went a lot smoother.
So how much of it was me andhow much of it was them, I'll

(08:09):
never know, but it was a loteasier for me to deal with
people when I went in with agood attitude.
The next level of my learninghow to deal with people was and
this may sound really silly andtrite and like what, but it was

(08:32):
watching Princess Diana when shewas alive, because she was so
concerned with taking care ofpeople and being thoughtful and
being compassionate and itreally showed me that it's
important to care for otherpeople right, and to be
compassionate and to be caring.

(08:52):
And so after she died and I wasvery upset when she died
because I just adored her and Iloved her and was very
supportive of her and I thought,you know, she was great.
And so when she died, I wasvery upset.
I I felt like a close friendhad died and I was very, very

(09:13):
upset.
But I told myself that I wantedto be more like her and I
wanted to be compassionate and Iwanted to be caring.
And so since then I've reallytried to be more caring right,
more concerned, morecompassionate, and I think as

(09:35):
I've gotten older, it's justbeen more important to me to be
a better person for people,because that's just who I am and
I don't.
I don't want to be mean topeople, I don't like being mean
to people now.
Okay.
Now there are instances whenyou you kind of have to be mean

(09:55):
to people.
You have to put people in theirplace.
If they're rude to you, I toyou.
I'm not saying that if peopleare rude or hurtful or
inappropriate, that you'resupposed to take it.
No, you have to stand yourground.
But if people are just who theyare and you're just interacting

(10:16):
with them, it's okay to just bekind, right.
So that's what I was doingtoday with this, when this
person said that I had a goodenergy, and that's what I strive
for every day when I interactwith others.
How do you see yourself, how doyou try to project yourself when

(10:41):
you are around other people,whether it's your family or your
friends or strangers?
How do you project yourselfwhen you're out in the world at
large?
I would like to know Send me acomment on my social media how
do you try to better yourselfand be a better person for other

(11:02):
people?
I think this is an importantthing, because the world is what
we make it, and the world canonly be as good as we are in it.
So I'll get off my soapbox now.
That's all I've got for today,folks.
Next week we'll tackle anothertopic together.

(11:24):
I hope you'll join me.
If you like this episode,please follow the Only Child
Diaries podcast on ApplePodcasts or other platforms you
might listen on and considerrating only child diaries and
writing a review.
It helps others to find us.
Please share it with a friendyou think might like it as well.

(11:47):
Visit my Instagram page onlychild diaries or Facebook only
child diaries podcast.
Thanks for listening.
I'm Tracy Wallace and these arethe Only Child Diaries.