The Power of "Excuse Me"

In the past 6 months I have started to wonder whether I'm becoming invisible, like Dorian Gray or Marty McFly in Back to the Future. Because everywhere I go -- walking down the street, on the subway, in elevators -- it seems that people are walking right through me. OK, I know that they're not really walking right through me. And I know this because many of them inadvertently shove me, kick my feet, or, on rare occasions, airlift me a few inches. These little incidents don't usually result in personal injury but they could. And I'm still a little pissed at this one lady who stepped square on top of my kinda pricey new boots, left a mark, and didn't even say anything. Grrr.

You're busy. I'm busy. We're all busy. Everyone needs to get somewhere now, without a second to spare. But are we really too busy to excuse ourselves?

When you shove past someone without excusing yourself, essentially you are saying, "I am more important than you at this moment; acknowledging you is not worth my time." And what if you really hurt someone? You don't know whether the person you elbowed just had surgery, suffers from arthritis or some other pain condition, or is in the beginning stages of pregnancy. Or perhaps your divine right to plow through a crowd with your opened golf umbrella snagged and ruined the only nice sweater that the wearer owns.

I don't claim to be holier than thou; I've certainly bumped into my share of people, sometimes intentionally, without saying "Excuse me." But really, that's a pretty crappy thing to do to. If you need to pass someone, take the 2 seconds to excuse yourself. You and the person you're passing will both feel like better human beings for it.