Indifference

I get disillusioned by people who are indifferent. I see examples of it everyday; athletes who just go through the motions, waiters or waitresses who don’t listen or seem to care, and store clerks who are put off by serving yet another customer, just to name a few. I know that indifference is sometimes a mask that hides shyness or insecurities and that it isn’t always an indication of whether somebody truly cares or not, but it still bugs me.

Thankfully, it’s just as easy to find people who do care.

Just this past weekend, Casey Mears, a NASCAR driver who has been on the Nextel Cup circuit for four years, won his first race. After Mears crossed the finished line, all he could do was scream. He did it over and over again. He’d been chasing a goal for so long that his emotions got the best of him—and it was a beautiful thing to witness. Competitors and teammates came over and hugged him and Mears just let the tears flow.

My friends and I often go to a restaurant on Friday nights to watch baseball. Truthfully, my opinion of the restaurant isn’t the highest. They don’t have HDTV. Sometimes the place is a little dirtier than I’d like. They have a high turnover when it comes to their wait-staff and the new people the hire are often clueless. But the place has two or three waitresses who understand what it means to serve people. They aren’t afraid of small talk, they refill drinks quickly, and they make it a pleasant experience. And they are always quick to open the doors for my oldest niece, who is in a wheelchair, when I take her there. So, because a couple of people care, I’m willing to endure the other stuff I don’t like.

Ever since I found my current mechanic, I take my car to him every time something is wrong with it. Sometimes it costs me a lot of money, like the time my air conditioner went out. Other times, he doesn’t charge me a penny because he says he can’t find anything wrong. Per his recommendation, I’ve been using pure synthetic oil because it keeps the engine cooler than regular oil and my car burns a ton of oil. Using synthetic oil is at least double and closer to triple the cost, but since he said I needed it, I was willing to pay for it. Recently, I took my car in for an oil change and after examining my engine he said that he doesn’t think I need to use synthetic oil any more because it’s burning just as quickly as regular oil does. How many mechanics would do that? He cares and as a result, he has my business.

Such concern for others doesn’t just apply to the business world. I have some friends who genuinely listen to me when I have concerns. They follow up our conversations with e-mails or phone calls to see how things are going. Hopefully, they can say the same about me.

Life is too short to live in a state of indifference. Whether at work, play, or just normal everyday routines, live like you mean it. Others will notice.