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Oprah recently did a show on rude behavior where she highlighted these statistics:

• Eighty percent of Americans think rudeness is a serious national problem.

• Yet ninety-nine percent say that they themselves are not rude.

So we can only conclude from these results that all of the rudeness must stem from one percent of all the people! Evidently, most of us think that almost everyone else is rude, but we’re not.

Test yourself

To see how you stack up, she provides a quiz. Here are a few of the questions:

Are you chronically late? 

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I would have to say n…yes. I want to say “no”, but there may be some people who would disagree with me! Too often I think I can squeeze in one more call or answer one more e-mail before heading off to that next appointment.

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Oprah answered the same way. I know I need to work on this … I tend to be five minutes late to meetings.

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Have you ever interrupted a face-to-face conversation to take a non-urgent cell phone call?

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I can’t ever recall a time when I’ve done this. Hey, that means I got one right!

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I’m good at ignoring the phone when I’m talking to someone face-to-face.

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Have you gone through a supermarket 10-item express lane with more than 10 items?

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Well, that depends on how you define the word “item”. If I have multiples of a single item that does only count as one, doesn’t it?

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I’m guilty by association because I go to the store with you, George.

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Oh thanks, Mary-Lynn, for blaming it all on me! That’s rude!

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These questions made us think – things that we don’t necessarily think are rude may be perceived as rude by others.

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I get annoyed with oblivious shoppers. When it’s December 24th and I’m starting to shop for Christmas, it’s just rude for people to wander around like they don’t have anything to do. They get in the way of us serious shoppers!

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For me, it’s rude drivers – they don’t use their turn signal. They don’t get over when I’m trying to merge even though there’s plenty of room. Drivers who don’t pay attention are inconsiderate!

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What rude behavior is a pet peeve for you?

3 rules of civil behavior

During her show, Oprah talked with Dr. P.M. Forni, author of Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct.

He says our society is structured to encourage rudeness. We’re stressed, fatigued, and in environments with a lot of people we don’t know. For example, we may be one of hundreds of people in a store or traffic jam. His book points out three rules to behave more civilly:

Pay Attention
Without attention, no meaningful interaction is possible. When we relate to the world as if we were on automatic pilot, we can hardly be at our best in our encounters with our fellow human beings.

Acknowledge Others
Acknowledge others' existence, their importance to you, their feelings, and the things they do for you. A simple "Good morning" as you walk past a co-worker in the hallway is a perfect example.

Think The Best
When we approach others assuming that they are good, honest, and sensitive, we often encourage them to be just that. Yet from the results of this study, it appears that we assume the worst in others while thinking the best of ourselves. Sometimes it is dissatisfaction with ourselves that makes us judge others unfairly.

Finally, Dr. Forni also says being polite is a healthier way to live. Going through life behaving rudely can make you physically sick. 

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We really appreciate that you took the time to read our post today. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the U.S. We’re going to put a different spin on it and talk about thanksgetting. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Why we started Bigg Success
We started Bigg Success to build a community of like-minded people. People who want to succeed bigg. Bigg goal-getters we call you. Fun-loving, positive thinking people who are usually happy, but never content. Looking to live your life your way and get to the next level of success.

We’re building a community that helps each other. We’re happy to volunteer our time to moderate – to be thought-starters – but we need your help. You see …

We don’t know you as well as we want to. And we don’t hear from you as much as we’d like to.

Now people in our business tell us that this is normal. But the Bigg Success community isn’t a group of normal people. It’s full of extraordinary people. Over-achievers. People who know they were born to do something bigg and are determined to do it.

People like you.

The most important thing we know.
We know a little about a lot of things and a lot about a few things. But here’s the most important thing we know …

We also know that you’re a quiet group. We know you’re busy. That’s why we keep our content as short as possible while still delivering something to take away every day.

But here’s the thing …

We can’t make bigg success better without you. Without your participation.
We’re happy to bring you our content for free – we’re not asking for money. We’re asking you to give something more valuable – just a little bit more of your time.

Because bigg success can’t be a bigger success without you. Without your input. Without your wisdom. Because as the Chinese proverb says …

And you’re that wise person we want to have a conversation with!

So here’s how you can help …
Tell us how we can help you. Tell us what you want and need from us. Tell us the answers to these questions:

• What do you like about Bigg Success?

• What do you think we could improve upon?
• What would you like to learn more about?
• What would you like to see us do differently?
• How can we help you get to the next level of success?

Here’s how to do it now …
Share your thoughts by leaving a comment. We know a lot of you have never left a comment anywhere before, but it’s as easy as typing up an e-mail once you’ve done it.

The easiest way to find our comment box is to click on the title of the article at the top of the page and then scroll down to the bottom where you’ll see “Leave a Reply”.

You’ll notice that a name and e-mail are required. You can just use your first name or even a fake name. You can use your real e-mail address or even a fake one.  Either way, your e-mail address is NOT made public. Nor do we use it in any way or share it with anybody. This requirement just protects us from those dreaded spammers.

… and in the future.
And then, keep sharing your comments on future posts …

• Tell us you agree or disagree … we like to hear both. Just tell us why.

• Tell us what we missed … you’ve had experiences we haven’t had. We want to learn from you too and so does the rest of the Bigg Success community.
• If you don’t know something, or we didn’t make it clear … ask a question.
• If you have an answer to someone else’s question … share it with all of us.

Everyone wins.
Let’s all learn from each other so we all reach our potential. There’s no scarcity of bigg success at Bigg Success. Everyone can benefit. Everyone can win.

And yes …

… we work hard to deliver our content where you want it, but we’re talking to you, too! We want to hear from all of you!

Here’s what’s in it for you …
By getting involved in the conversation, we can choose future topics and design future posts that help you with what you need help with. Content that fits your wants and needs so you get to the next level of success in your life.

We thank you so much for reading, or listening, to this post. We look forward to getting to know you better. Until next time, here’s to your bigg success!

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