lackingunderstanding

I was told something today by a dear friend of mine that they named a theory after me and that it worked.  I laughed so hard for on very specific reason: I had no idea what they were talking about!  The James Theory?  What on earth?  They had taken something that I did and turned it into something that they wanted to do (although I was unaware that it was being done by anyone else) and it was explained to me as such:

The James Theory

Take a few minutes out of your day to make anyone you meet either smile or laugh.  Whether it’s just showing them undivided attention for even just a few minutes, or doing something a little out of the ordinary to make them laugh or chuckle.  Basically, show them one of two things:

•  That they are important enough to be heard even if only for a short time.

or

• That a smile, chuckle, or all out laugh is enough to help them carry through the day.

Either one of these things will be remembered by them for at least the rest of the day and maybe even duplicated.

—

Try it out for a few days and see what happens.  When you meet an employee at the store, call them by name (they have those name tags on for a reason) and if you can’t see their name on the tag (because some people don’t care enough to wear it facing the right direction) NAME THEM and inform them of their new name!  Nothing crude please or it will defeat the purpose.

Throw out a few catch-phrases in your everyday speech that you found bring a smile to their faces.  If you can’t think of any, feel free to use a few of the ones I commonly throw out there that usually produce the desired response of at minimum, a smile.

• When told to have a nice day, reply back with, “We’ll see what happens” and give them a smile!  Most people don’t know what to do with that and it usually brings a small amount of laughter with it.
•  Tell someone that their “Amazazazing!” and when asked about the extra syllables, make sure that you tell them that when a word doesn’t hold enough power to properly fill the need, extra syllables must be added to fill in the gap.
• And if you can EVER find the proper use for this (this one’s my favorite) tell the other person to “Tell all of your friends and I’ll tell both of mine!”.  That always gets people smiling and audibly lolling.

Try the James Theory on for size and see what happens.  If you can get someone smiling, laughing, or at least feeling special for even just a few minutes of the day, it will have more of an impact on you then them!  You will be remembered by them, but you will find that you have made yourself happier by helping other people find a little joy in their lives.