I’m a pretty superstitious person.
I put my left shoe on first every day, try not to step on cracks, touch the ceiling of my car when I go through a yellow light or see a car with only one working headlight (“padiddle!”) and am a big believer in routine.
And so, I have two people that I think of as my daily doormen — the greeters that I look forward to seeing every day.
The first is a crossing guard at an intersection between my house and the office. He’s a waver. He tries to make eye contact with every driver that goes by, and if you wave to him, he’ll wave back.
I only get about two seconds with him each day. I’ll probably never know his name or tell him how much he affects my life. But when I don’t see him, or he doesn’t wave, I spend a chunk of my commute being pretty bummed out and hoping it’s not an omen for a bad day.
As soon as I arrive at work, I see the person that may be the hardest working man in America, and my second doorman. He’s the property manager for our office, and he’s usually halfway through a major project by the time I arrive — pressure washing windows, oiling door hingers, etc.
He always smiles, grabs the door for me and wishes me a great day. The crazy thing is that after I put in a full day at the office, he’s usually still around — watering plants or sweeping the floor.
When I see him, I smile. I think of how much pleasure he seems to get out of his job. I try and appreciate the work that he does, both seen and unseen.
I recently finished Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project” (you can listen to a Growing Bolder interview with her here) and was struck by how some small changes really did make her happier. Smiling. Singing. Letting go of anger and embracing the positive. Taking time to feed off of other people’s happiness.
I don’t know if I’m anyone’s doorman, but I hope someday to have the same positive impact on others that these two have had on my life.
