Why is it so much easier to be nice to strangers than it is family?
It’s like you are “on” at work, and turn it “off” at home.
I think it might be that we know family will be there regardless, while a stranger or co-worker will often not give you a second chance.
Maybe the hard thing is not the career, the success, the networking, the performance we put on for others.
Maybe the hard thing is being there for the ones we love.
I say we focus on the hard thing.
“It’s easier to be impressive to strangers than it is to be consistently kind behind the scenes. It’s easier to show up and be a hit for an hour than it is to get down on the floor with your kids when you’re so tired your eyes are screaming and bone-dry. It’s easier to be charming on a conference call than it is to traverse the distance between you and your spouse, the distance you created. Sometimes being brave is being quiet. Being brave is getting off the drug of performance. For me, being brave is trusting that what my God is asking of me, what my family and community is asking from me, is totally different than what our culture says I should do. Sometimes, brave looks boring, and that’s totally, absolutely, okay.”
–Shauna Niequist, Present Over Perfect