Your Last Impression

Imagine that this is your last day on earth. Is this the last impression you want to make? I heard this asked the other day on a news broadcast and it stuck with me. How often do we wake up and think to ourselves that this could be our final day, and then treat it accordingly? I would dare to say, rarely.

The news broadcast was focused on using common sense in the workplace. They mentioned such things as respecting your boss, not being a complainer and working as though you’re appreciative of your job. Of course if you want to lose your job, then ignore all of that.

At the end of the broadcast someone asked the question, “Imagine that this is your last day on earth. Is this the last impression you want to make?” Although they were referring to work, that question applies to all areas of life.

How do we treat people? What do we say to them? What do we write about? If this were my last post, is this the last impression I would want to make?

Most of us go throughout our day trying to treat others right, which is great. The problem is, is that we tend to focus on the big things, but give little thought to how the small things we do affect others as well.

For example, being short with our responses because we’re frustrated or giving someone a rotten expression as we walk away from them. Perhaps our irritation at a coworker was made obvious by something we did. Maybe we snapped at the cashier for making a mistake or expressed our anger toward a fellow driver.

When we leave someone’s presence, what impression do we leave them with? Were we kind, rude, bossy, mean, helpful? It’s the little things that people remember the most. They remember, because of how those things made them feel.

There’s a quote that says, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  ~ Maya Angelou

How did you make people feel today? How did you treat your family, your friends, coworkers or strangers? Did you leave them with a smile on their face or did you leave them questioning?

There have been people I have known for only a moment, but that moment stuck with me because of how they made me feel. Some made me feel good and left a good impression, while others did quite the opposite.

There are friends and family who I’ve known for years, and have proven to be wonderful people. However, if they were to do or say something hurtful on their last day, then that memory would resonate in my mind, even after they’re gone. Would it cause me to harbor hard feelings toward them or forget all the wonderful times we had together? Of course not, but that moment would remain in the back of my mind.

As a child my mother always told me to never say, “I hate you.” Hate is a powerful word and is very painful to hear. I certainly wouldn’t want that to be the last thing someone heard me say. Our words, our actions and even our facial expressions make lasting impressions on people.

Granted, there are times when people misinterpret the things we do, as our eyes and ears have a way of playing tricks on us. Unfortunately we can’t control how others perceive us, but we can control what is done on our part. We can control our actions and our words, and endeavor to make a good last impression on those around us.

As we go throughout our day today and interact with various people, we should ask ourselves:

“This could be my last day on earth. Is this the last impression I want to make?”