make others happy

Always try to make others happy. We are taught enough lessons by our teachers to drive this point home. And often we try. Any organization we work for, customer delight is of prime importance whether we like it or not. And we are encouraged (pardon me for the sugar coated HR jargon here, it simply means you better do it!) to achieve the same.

One of the ways I make others happy is by doing something to meet or exceed their expectations without being told to me. That is why I try to take bath every day before my most important customer,- my wife-  asks the routine question “did you take bath today?”. To answer yes, to make myself happy, to make my wife happier! I can’t tell a lie there, she has enough ways to find out whether I have really taken bath. Then I wonder why that question in the first place! Yes, I only just wonder to myself and don’t delve into it at all, for my own happiness. Taking a bath is much easier!!

Always try to make others happy, a good practice but the always part is a bit tricky. A few incidents make me think otherwise.

I always go early in the morning to fill petrol in my car. Many reasons for that. Less crowd, less waiting time. My mind is fresh and I am alert to see that I am not cheated. Like many others I am also a big believer of science, that science tells me that during cold mornings the petrol will be denser. That means I would get a few milliliters more petrol for the same amount of money.

Yesterday morning I was returning from the petrol pump successfully. As I was getting into the road I saw the three wheeler auto approaching from far. He was in full throttle, I sensed he must be happy. He would have got a customer in the rear. Otherwise the auto driver would have crawled at 10 KMPH looking out for prospective preys. A normal driver would have taken his car in the middle, made the auto guy slow down and probably made him shout a few un-parliamentary words. I, being a person not to miss an opportunity ever in making others happy, waited patiently for him to pass through, to make him even happier. And then I just followed him.

It took a while for me to switch gears. As I was about to race, I had the worst nightmare in that early morning. One auto parked in the side suddenly came in to the middle of the road. My heart stopped for a second. All my thrills of getting additional few drops of petrol evaporated .With quick reflexes I went into the opposite lane. Luckily the driver of the car coming from the opposite direction had even better reflexes, he also went into the extreme left and avoided me. All happened in a fraction of a second. I looked at the rear view mirror when things became normal. I could see the same auto driver whom I gave way earlier, whom I tried to make happier, was crawling looking out for the next passenger. He didn’t seem to be aware that he almost killed me, probably one more from the opposite direction.

A few weeks back, again early in the morning – I think it is high time I stopped this early morning business, it doesn't seem to be working out too well for me ! – I was walking on the road. A few good looking young ladies talking, happily smiling were coming across me. They abruptly stopped smiling the moment I looked at them, they became serious. Then I realised, probably my face would have been too serious. Probably because of the Chinese food from Chung’s place  I had in the previous night would have stiffened my face a bit more than usual along with other parts of my body in the rear. I decided to loosen up a bit. They say when you try to smile with even for no reason, you may tend to feel happier in life. I agree, only when you are not faced with any pressing problems though! So I tried to smile a bit. Why should I curtail somebody else’s happiness by showing my rude face?  

My smiling continued. The next person walking across me was happy too, he had a cheerful, gay disposition. He wore a peculiar dress, an ear ring on the wrong ear! He was walking slowly, swaying a bit. His happiness grew further seeing my smile and I could make out he wanted to become closer to me. I respected his feeling but I didn’t want to be part or partner of his scheme of things. I am straight and like to walk straight. So I walked straight ignoring him, bringing back my face to the original state. No more trying too hard to make others happier this way!

These are odd exceptions and these exceptions will no way hamper my enthusiasm to make others happy as and when possible. Don’t I need to do that to survive? to keep myself happy?