“If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say…”

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” This is some of the best advice my mother ever gave me. And, admittedly, I don’t always follow it as well as I should but I’m working on it.

So, why aren’t we nicer to each other?

I have a few theories:

EGO – I think people sometimes think they need to have the last word in order to feel better about themselves.

INSECURITY – I think people sometimes have a need to give unsolicited advice because of their own lack of confidence.

JEALOUSY – I think people sometimes attempt to give “constructive feedback” when what they are saying is actually quite belittling and they know it.

ARROGANCE – I think people often forget that you can be right or you can be happy but a lot of times you cannot be both.

UNHAPPINESS – I think people are sometimes just disagreeable for sport in an attempt to make others miserable too.

So, the next time I’m inclined to be snide, sarcastic, unpleasant, disagreeable or even hateful, I’ll take a moment to think about what is motivating this behavior and make a better decision.