Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Being Nice Is Free

I could go on and on about this and look up a bunch more Bambi quotes, but I won't. A friend and I were talking the other day, and basically we boiled most everything down to this.

Being Nice is Free.

So, can you afford it?


Today is the last day you can bid on the silent auction for the Florida Writers Foundation. I'm offering a 50-page crit--so go check it out!

And Candyland is looking for $1 per follower to help women, children, and families. Click here for all the details and to donate.

64 comments:

Golden Eagle said...

Being nice is one of the few things that people can be without paying much of anything.

Lindsay said...

Ooh, of to check both of these out. I love being nice. :)

Emily White said...

I would LOVE to bid on your critique, but I'm poor. :( Why must all the good stuff happen on the week I am poor?

And yes, being nice is one of my favorite things to do! I like knowing I made someone happy just by smiling at them or saying something to brighten their day. :D

Renae said...

Thanks for the links Elana!

Jennifer Shirk said...

Love that. :)
Will check out the links too.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Yep, that's so true. Thanks for offering the critique. That's super nice.

Bast said...

It's awesome you're offering a critique. I'd love to bid, but just moved into a new apartment ... furniture's expensive.

Being nice doesn't cost us anything, but sometimes, it feels like it does.

Christine Fonseca said...

Your critiques are amazing! Everyone should go bid...right.now!

TerryLynnJohnson said...

Great that you've posted about this! There's so few bids and it ends soon!!! How NICE to see you donate your time Elana!

Unknown said...

I love being nice... it makes you feel so great!

Anonymous said...

Awesome!!! And being nice to someone can prompt them to be nice to someone, and so on.

So, spread it 'round.

Thanks for this post today!

Kerri Cuev said...

I don't know about nice without Bambi quotes lol. I guess you get a feeble. :-)

Christine Danek said...

Thanks. I'll check them out.

Jamie Grey said...

I think people don't realize how easy it is to make some one's day by just being nice! Everyone should try it :)

Thanks for this post!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Considering how many people are being nice to me today, I certainly appreciate it - and it's making my day!

Kelly Polark said...

I agree. Being nice not only puts others in a better mood, but you too!

Misha Gerrick said...

Being nice is free, so I find it sad that so many people are nasty.

Hannah said...

Thank God for the little things and the free things in life. It's a good thing we'll never have to pay to laugh. :D

Karen Lange said...

Excellent point! Thanks for the links. :)

Corey Schwartz said...

I may have to post that one on a wall in my house as a constant reminder to my five and six year old.

Jennifer Hoffine said...

Not only is being nice free, the costs of being mean are way too high.

Ishta Mercurio said...

YES - you have smart friends. Which figures, since you're their friend. :-)

B.E. Sanderson said...

It doesn't take anything to just be nice. Thanks for saying it, Elana.

Sarah Ahiers said...

i'm almost always nice - it's way easier and it helps me with my MN tendancy of avoiding confrontation

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Yes!! One of my mottos! Thanks for pointing me to the auction!!

DL Curran said...

And besides being free, being nice just makes you feel good about yourself while making someone else feel good too. Win-win, I'd say! :)

Matthew MacNish said...

Wow, two great links here (though admittedly I knew about J2W2)? Thanks Elana!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

We're all in it to make life better for one another!

BK Mattingly said...

Thanks for the reminder :) Kindness is so often overlooked as a quality we should have, sadly.

Carolyn V. said...

Plus it makes me feel better when I'm nice. =D

Carol Kilgore said...

Exactly. A very wise woman once told me that most people are nice, but when they're not, they're not, and there's nothing I could do about that. It's something I try to remember when I come across those who aren't.

Southpaw said...

I wish more people realized that.
:(

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss elana! wow! this is my most favorite post for today! yep! being nice if free for sure! and being nice is sooooo easy to do and the one youre nice too gets something real special and you get something real special in your heart. me and my family been a supporter for miss candace from the start and were gonna do it again cause its real good to help people that got lots less then you. just one dollar is soooo easy to give. for me i just gotta give up bubble gum or some peanut butter cups or a hotwheels car. for big people they just gotta give up a cup of coffee. wow how easy is that!
...hugs from lenny

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I feel like people would rather pay for the alternative. Sad, when nice is free and easy and and can make you as happy as the person you're treating with respect.

Anita Saxena said...

Being nice is just one of those golden rules for life. And by being nice you just never know what opportunities might arise from it.

Unknown said...

Maybe we should advocate for a-define the word NICE day. I think the true definition has been forgotten. It seems it's now a word left up to interpretation (ex:"I may have stolen your purse but I didn't punch you in the face. What more do you want from me lady?" Lady feels guilty for not recognizing how nice the purse snatcher was-apologizes profusely) Oh Drat! That wasn't very nice of me. (sigh)

Lisa Potts said...

Being nice is one of the only things I can afford right now.

Kathryn Rose said...

Emily White's comment is the funniest thing I've read all morning! I ditto that.

I like people who are nice. They just seem to make the world that much cozier.

lotusgirl said...

I like that thought.

Katrina L. Lantz said...

Being nice is free. I've been thinking about this lately, too, and how much I appreciate the niceness of my fellow writers. It just makes sense to pay it forward. Thanks for the links! I'll check them out. :)

Lydia Kang said...

Being nice is free, and being the recipient of niceness feels like a million bucks.

Angie said...

So true, and you are one of the nicest people I know! Hope you are doing great. I miss you.

Shannon Messenger said...

You're so right. It's not hard to be a nice person. And it makes you so much happier.

(Though I'll confess, the pessimist in me is thinking of the other side of the coin, the "No good deed goes unpunished" side--which does happen. But it's still better to do the right thing and be nice. ) :)

Candyland said...

Dude,
a)thanks for the linkage
b)i totally bid on the 50 pg critique
c)i wish everyone were like a tenth as nice as you.
HUGS.

Angela Ackerman said...

This is one of those things where it feels great to do, so why not? It's effortless to be nice, yet takes energy to be miserable.

My mantra is this: If you can do good, then do.

:)

Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

Janet Johnson said...

Happy thought of the day. :)

Marieke said...

Word :)

Michelle Merrill said...

Thanks for the simple but great thought! I just wanted to let you know that I gave you an award on my blog. perfectingthecraft.blogspot.com

Theresa Milstein said...

It's easy to be nice, so why do we forget?

It's funny because I'm being the opposite of nice these days. Since I started the new job, I have to be tough and show I mean business so they'll settle down. I can't wait until I've gotten ahold of the classes well enough that I can be nice again.

I'll check out the critique auction.

Heather Kelly said...

I'll check both of these out. I sometimes reverse things, and I read your blog post title as: It's Nice to be Free, and I thought, oh, I'm so glad that Elana is feeling less stressed these days. Let me know when that happens too. :)

Heather Kelly said...

Or you know, I read your title as Being Free Is Nice. I'm pretty sure you knew what I meant.
:)

Melissa said...

Your question made me freeze for a moment. I was actually shocked at the thoughts that went through my head.

I conclude with. Yes I can.

To start us off, my niceness towards you today is this: You truly are an inspiration to all of us writers! I don't think you get told that enough.

Jill Kemerer said...

Yes, I can afford it! Even when I'm tired, grouchy and desperately need a Snickers bar, I can afford it. Great post!

Jemi Fraser said...

Love the title and the sentiment! So true :)

Sara B. Larson said...

What a great thought. I sure hope I can afford free!

WritingNut said...

Very true... the sad thing is how many people forget this :(.

So many people choose to go the alternate route, when sometimes, all it takes is a smile to make someone's day :)

Jeff King said...

great reminder... i need to remeber this sometimes.

Jan Markley said...

True dat!

Shannon said...

Well said. =)

It also does wonders for your health. Carrying about anger, hate, resentment, and envy is toxic.

Good message today, Elana. Thanks.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

So true, Elana! It doesn't take a lot of effort to be nice. A smile or holding the door or a thank you are all easy free ways to be nice.

Great reminder...

Nichole Giles said...

All I can say is yes.

And I'll throw out there that while being nice is free, being anything else often costs much more than we realize. Relationships, deals, respect, friends, happiness...the list could be long and detailed. But I already know you get it.

Rockin post.

Heather Zundel said...

Well said. And if nothing else, you'll have a happier view on life. :)

Donea Lee said...

Hi Elana - you know, I was reading my "Prevention" mag today and it even said something about "nice people" being more mentally and physically healthy. It's worth it!!! Apparently, being a stressed-out, cranky sour-puss all the time will kill you quicker.

Anonymous said...

love it!
simple and true

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