Manners matter.
I’m not certain about other people, but for me, it matters a lot.
For me, manners come in different types. Because your behaviour changes depending on with whom and where you are.
With different groups of people, you should maintain your way of behaving. If you think that no I’ll behave the way I behave in front of my loved ones, or I’m like this, you definitely need to reflect on your manners.
Let’s categorise the group of people and how you have to draw a wise line of manners.
Different Types of Groups
Family
For me, family means parents and siblings. The most closed people, who know everything about us.
They know how we react to different situations. With them, we normally don’t have to include manners.
In a family, there should be respect for each other, and with that, manners come automatically.
You don’t have to fake anything. You can be completely yourself and express your feelings without hesitation.
Relatives
In this group of people, what matters is your relationship with them.
For some people, relatives are a headache. For some people, it is an unbreakable bond.
As I said, it completely depends on your relationship with them. There is a strong possibility that you may not have a good bond with every relative, somewhere you have to pretend and maintain a boundary of manners.
Even if you don’t like a few relatives, you have to make sure that you are not crossing your limits to maintain social courtesy.
I personally believe that whether you like that person or not, we should never cross our limits.
Here, when you have a good bond with them, you don’t have to pretend anything; everything comes naturally.
Friends
I personally believe that when you are with your friend circle, you can be completely yourself and don't need to pretend anything.
When it comes to close friends, there is no need to follow manners as well.
I have five close friends, and when I’m with them, I don’t have to follow any manners. I can be completely myself because they know me quite well and accept me with every flaw.
But we have to follow some manners when it comes to friends of friends, where you can not be completely yourself because of obvious reasons, and follow certain manners. At least with me, this is the case.
Neighbours
There is a saying in Hindi, “Pehla Saga Padosi,” which means neighbours are the first family you have.
I have a lot of experience where neighbours are the ones who came to help in the first place.
Also, it is always advisable to have a good relationship with neighbours. You never know when you’ll need their help.
Just forget about help, but those are the people who live closest to your house, and you will see them every day.
So try to maintain good relations with them. Greet them on a daily basis, and invite them to your home occasionally.
Personally, I like to do all these things.
Corporate Friends/Colleague
I’ve been in the corporate industry for more than 8 years now, and I’ve seen many bosses and employees who completely lack manners.
I’ve seen bosses who take their anger out on employees, treat them like slaves, abuse them - in short, lack manners.
These people mostly have ego problems. They can’t accept their mistakes. Accepting their mistakes is a colossal task for them.
I personally believe that it doesn’t matter from which background, post, or designation you come from; all employees should be treated with respect and manners.
No boss or manager has the right to take their anger out on employees.
The same goes with colleagues. Treat all your colleagues with respect and follow basic manners.
Being at a higher post doesn’t give you the right to abuse or treat junior employees as punching bags.
Corporate is a place where we should strictly maintain a few boundaries and stand for ourselves wherever needed.
Bottom Line
Every school should include this curriculum and teach children the basics of manners.
While growing old, they would realize the importance of manners and include them in their day-to-day life.
See, you can learn and incorporate manners at any stage of your life. But the important thing is you should start.
So, when are you incorporating manners in your life?
