I’m a frequent traveler and when I’m adding up the miles I see a lot of bad behavior from my fellow road warriors. Ever see the passenger at the Gate berating the person behind the counter trying to get people on the plane? It makes total sense to beat them down since they were the ones that broke the Plane causing the delay or dialed up the wind and rain causing your flight to be grounded for a little while longer. Right? Or how about that person that takes a suitcase on to the plane that’s large enough to fit the contents of a small home. They try shoving it into the overhead compartment and when it doesn’t fit, they bitch at the flight attendant because they have to check a bag.  When this stuff happens people can expose a real ugly side of themselves.

My reminder on this glorious Friday morning is simple; remember to be intentional about being great to other people. This is going to sound really goofy but I actually play a little game when I travel. My goal is to be the most annoying “happy guy” people encounter all day. It starts with my man Boston that shines my shoes who actually fires ME up but we always get a good laugh in before I make it to my gate. Then Lisa with American that works the gate and handles people like a boss. She takes great care of her passengers so I make it a point to tell her that she is awesome and doing a terrific job. When I get on the plane I’m always on the lookout for the female passenger that has packed her bag with every pair of shoes in her closet and might have a hard time lifting that suitcase into the overhead bin so I get to come to the rescue. Then when I’m leaving the plane I try to high five the crew cleaning up, thank the flight attendants for their service (and the extra Biscoff cookies), and I let the pilots know I am grateful for the safe landing.

Do I make a positive impact on people during my travel day with a kind word or something as simple as a smile? I really hope I do but here is the other side of that. I’m pretty sure it does more for me than anyone else. As much as I have to be away from home, traveling actually bums me out. I don’t like leaving my family and missing out on things so this is my way of dealing with that. This is all selfish in a way because it makes me feel pretty great so this is what you call one of those “Win/Win” situations.

Every single day before my kids go to school I tell them I love them and to SHINE THE LIGHT. I’m a faith guy so that means shine His light but if you’re not on that page it still works. Just shine some light into whatever darkness you encounter because it has a funny way of causing a ripple. Ever had someone be nice to you at just the right moment when you were struggling with something bad and it hit you in just the right way? Be that light to someone this weekend and see if it doesn’t pay you back.

Not preaching here, just a little nudge and reminder of what this is all about after all. Have an awesome weekend!