Popularity, Want It?

Popularity, Want It?
GBE2 Prompt for this week~Popularity
#24


Life has so many opportunities for each of us to make 'friends' as we carry on with our daily routines.  You can choose to smile at someone who catches your eye or look away.  You can interact with the people with whom you do business or just conduct your business in silence.  You get the picture.  Every day we basically decide if we are going to be social and nice or just move through life kind of alone.  


Looking for popularity is much more prevalent than one might first think.  Doesn't everyone want to be liked?  Accepted for exactly who they are?  Don't you feel better if someone calls you by name rather than "Miss" or "Mr." or "Next"?  Of course, you do!  Why?  Because you like to be remembered.  Being remembered means you were worth remembering.  You were nice enough, or maybe sad enough, maybe happy enough, you were something special and someone remembered your name.  It's a good feeling.  It's like being popular.  


It's "like" being popular, but it isn't being popular.  Being popular requires that people like you and/or what you do.  You seek acceptance in all aspects of your life, don't you?  Don't you work to please people and take pride in any job well done?  Isn't it just like a gift when someone says to you, "No one could've done that as well as you just did."  Isn't that what we kind of all work towards?  To be recognized as the best at something, if not everything we do.  To be the most popular?  Of course, you are now saying, "Not me!  I work for self-satisfaction.  I do my best work because that's who I am.  If someone else notices and compliments me, that's nice, but not why I do everything as well as I am capable!"  To that I say, "Bahahahahahahahahaha.  Liar liar pants on fire!"  We all want crave  appreciate recognition.  We all want to be the most popular at work, at home and at play.  It's not a bad thing.  It's just not possible.  Even if you can't be the most popular everywhere, maybe you can be the most popular somewhere!


What if you start with the people you love most.  It would be really nice if you could win a popularity contest with them.  Oh, not your kids!  No, no they will never vote for you.  You are the authority and you can't be THAT popular.  If you are THAT popular, maybe you should make some changes in your parenting tactics.  Even my adult children might not vote for me because I am still parenting my 40 year olds a little.  I will do this my whole life, I imagine.  It's a lifelong job I signed on for when I didn't use birth control those couple of times.  So there are times they think I am brilliant (when I am doling out advice to another sibling) and an equal number of times they think (or know) I am bordering on senility.  Times they think I am the sweetest person ever (when I am praising them) and times that I am just mean (when I disagree with them) and a little bit out of the loop.  Okay, not the kids.


Our co-workers.  That's it!  We can be the most popular person at work!  All you have to do to achieve this is take on some of everyone's work load, be the first in and last out every day, bring goodies (homemade) a couple times a week, NEVER say anything negative to or about anyone at all and be the most productive, yet unrewarded person, in the whole place.  So you go for that one, if you like.  I always preferred to be the one everyone counted on to say what everyone else was thinking and was afraid to say out loud.  Not usually going to get one the Miss Congeniality Award.  Though I did win that once at a management training seminar!  Very cool, I was the most popular one time!  Back at work, not so much.  No one I actually worked with could understand how I won that since the other managers in the seminar did the voting.  I swear, I paid no one!  It was very cool, if not really deserved, loved nonetheless.


Siblings?  This one is easier.  Just never argue with any of them.  Whatever they say or do, just act like it's the best ever!  Keep your opinions to yourself because they might not gel with the siblings, one or any of them will keep your popularity down.  Just be the one who always agrees with everyone.  If they never talk about you to each other, that should work.  


You wanna be popular?  It's not rocket science, it's a matter of being a nice person.  Being honest and kind and smiling.  Doing things for people just because they need someone to do it for them and you can.  Thinking things through before spouting an opinion and if it doesn't matter to anyone who will hear you, save your thoughts for some one who will appreciate your views.  It might be someone who doesn't agree with you, but respects you.  You will learn by listening to people with whom you disagree, if you actively listen.  Sometimes your mind will be changed and sometimes you will be more adamant about your opinion.  Either way, you learn.  Either way, you may become more popular.  Either way, you may not.


Being popular, from what I've seen, is mostly about just being pleasant and spreading sunshine where ever you go.  If you don't have sunshine in your heart, that's a good day to stay home or stay quietly to yourself.  


I don't care about being popular anymore, but I do still crave acceptance and I do still crave love and adoration so if you love and/or adore me, please comment below!  It'll aid my mental health!


Jo