Just be a decent person. Treat others how you want to be treated — phrases that seem to be misunderstood or overlooked today.

People seem to be forgetting how far words like “please,” and “thank you,” go in society. Holding a door for someone often takes five extra seconds, yet people don’t do it.

Just be nice to people. It takes more effort to be mean than it does to be thoughtful and kind to someone.

People who are being rude often say they have a “good” reason to act how they are acting. People forget that while they are treating someone a certain way, there is another person receiving that treatment who might be going through other things.

Everyone is fighting some sort of battle. That battle might be something they want to share, or it may be something they want to keep to themselves. Either way, it is their battle. It is something they are going through, and being rude to them does not help.

Don’t talk down to people. A lot of people are opening up just by sharing ideas, and as soon as they are talked down to, or told they are “stupid” or their that their idea is wrong, they close off again — making them question why they decided to talk in the first place.

If someone is being unkind toward you, they could be having a bad day or facing something behind closed doors. While it is not an excuse for them to act a certain way, it is not a free pass to act the exact same way toward them in return.

People are becoming more and more selfish and closed off to the point where if a stranger smiles or gives a compliment it is shocking. Being a decent person, just decent, not even overly-nice can make a huge difference and change the world as we know it.

You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.