The Six Power of Nice Principles

For all those who want to implement the Power of Nice into their lives, the authors explain six Power of Nice principles that, when followed, will transform how you work and live. Here’s a summary of them: 

1. Positive impressions are like seeds 

Any time you do something nice for someone, it is much like planting a seed. These seeds, with time, begin to swell and grow — most often, without you even being aware of it. And almost with mathematical certainty, you will begin to see the fruits of these seeds creating many opportunities for you down the road. 

2. You Never Know 

When dishing out your pleasantries, it doesn’t pay to be selective. It’s not just your boss’s wife with whom you should be nice, you should make it a habit to be nice to everyone because you never know who they might be.  

3. People Change

 Much like you don’t know who someone might be, you never know who they might become. If at your office you are only cordial with your co-workers and superiors but not to the guy who takes out the garbage because to you they “have no power”, then you’re limiting yourself. People change. You never know who that person may be in five, ten, or twenty years from now.

 4. Nice must be automatic

 You can’t fake niceness. People have an amazing ability to ferret out deception, so don’t do it. Being nice must be a part of you. So make sure you practice it on a regular basis. At the shopping center, with your mailman, in the checkout line. Practice being truly sincere and kind at all times, then it will become a part of you. 

5. Negative impressions are like germs

 If you think that you treating someone badly because “they don’t matter” has no ill-effect, think again. Your unkindness can spread like a bad case of the flu to others who are in ear or eye shot of your rudeness. For example, how do you feel about that someone who you notice is being rude to a waitress? Don’t their actions make you think less of them, even though they hadn’t directed them at you? 

6. You will know 

Just because no one might have noticed your rudeness or bad behavior toward someone, or that you’ll never see that person again so no one will know, remember that you will know. Being nice isn’t about constantly carrying around a forced smile or scheming about what you’ll be able to get from a person if you show them kindness. It’s about living it completely in your everyday life.