Have you ever approached a stop sign while driving down a desolate road and thought out loud, ‘stop-tional’ and rolled on through? If you’re like me, of course, you have! But take note, I said DESOLATE road.
Ok, let’s switch gears. Now, consider you’re driving in a busy city center. Do you still think stop signs are ‘stop-tional’?
Of course not! The consequences of not stopping could be catastrophic!
Yet, we see people driving through stop signs every day.
We seem to have become a society that accepts and seemingly embraces behaviour that wasn’t commonplace just five years ago.
Our ability to pause, reflect and be courteous has been replaced with an intolerable need to hurry others along for no apparent reason. We need to go faster, and everything is NOW NOW NOW.
While stop signs being ‘stop-tional’ is only an example, it demonstrates how consideration and respect for others are no longer a priority. We are in such a rush to get where we’re going that we aren’t paying attention to the impact that being impatient is having on others.

And it’s having a ripple effect.
We are teaching younger generations that we don’t need to be kind or considerate of one another and that rules and everyday politeness are ‘optional’ even behind the wheel. Consequences are no longer feared.
Think about this: Every time we drive through a stop sign or behave in a way that is dismissive or disrespectful to others, we foster emotions of frustration and anger in them.
Feeling disrespected creates disrespect. Being dismissed creates feelings of anger.
If we want that to change, we must change our behaviour.
So, maybe it’s time we stopped at stop signs.
Maybe the ripple effect of that simple act of consideration for others (simple but a legal requirement!) would produce waves of kindness.
How does stopping at a stop sign create kindness?
Being respected creates feelings of respect in others.
Respect generates feelings of warmth toward others. Warmth results in kindness. And kindness is contagious. Full circle—all that from stopping at a stop sign.
Maybe it’s worth a try.
Be authentic. Be real. Be kind.
~ David