People: More Important than Stuff

Whatever your favorite thing is, I bet that your favorite people mean more to you.

People are more important than stuff.

This is even true for 5 year-olds, who are notorious selfish about their stuff:

Think about it: how many introverts do you know who are truly introverted—modern day hermits by choice?

We have a word for people who lack company when it’s not their choice. The word is lonely, and it carries a negative connotation. There is no analogous word for “unhappily surrounded by people.” In fact, the antonym of lonely is “popular.”

Antonyms of “alone” include “accompanied,” “loved,” and “among friends.”

Getting the point?

Your take-aways here are three-fold:

First, when, in your race for a bigger office, faster car, nicer something-or-other, you find yourself turning a blind eye to other people’s needs, losing friends because they’re turning away from you, or answering calls to people who need to explain how you’ve hurt them, say “oops” and rethink your recent life.

Second, when, in your pursuit for peace on earth, you find yourself bemoaning all your moron coworkers, your socialist or militant but certainly incompetent governing representatives, your selfish family, or your dumb ass teachers, self-administer a mental check / colonoscopy (which you should be able to do simultaneously) and throw yourself into the mix for good measure.

Finally, when, during the course of your day-to-day life, you notice someone who is alone and maybe not so happy about it, put a smile on your face and say something nice. It won’t kill you. (But to be safe, use a nice, non-threatening tone of voice.) You may never know the impact you have, but chances are, it will be positive. Chances are also that if you do this often enough, that smile will go from plastic to genuine within a week.

Now go have a great day, and don’t forget to tell someone you love them… or at the very least, like them.

Jason Seiden is Co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media, a training company that shows professionals how use social media to work more effectively.