Things you should TRY HARD NOT to do even when it seems ...well hard.

Sometimes we are faced with crazy situations and we just do stuff that normally, we wouldn’t think of doing. The thing is, we do the unthinkable before even thinking about it. Then when we do think about it, we are sometimes appalled by our actions. And if the situation presents itself again, we might probably do the same thing because it is simply difficult not to.

Exchange words in a market place: Now, some of you would be quick to say ‘I’ll never do that.’ I believe you. Look at this scenario though. You know how crowded these markets can be right? Then a woman comes out from nowhere and steps on your pedicured feet with a pair of slippers that hasn’t seen water in years. Then she looks at you and hisses rather loudly. [Sheeooo!]

Or if a trader all of a sudden starts insulting you during price haggling. She said the plastic bucket was N250 and you asked if she would sell it for N200. And the next thing you hear, ‘You are mad! Get out of here! [You dey mad! Come buy am N2 na! Dey go!]

A number of cool and decent ladies would really lose it in these case scenarios. I have seen it happen a number of times. But then the woman keeps saying more annoying things and you find out that you just can’t stop talking back even as you walk away because you are beyond pissed.

It is indeed hard to walk away without saying a word. That is why you have to try hard to do so. Or say one or two words but don’t start exchanging words. Just take a walk.

Talk loudly in a bus: The only time some of us might be guilty of this is when we are on the phone. And that is because of the rather terrible network situation we sometimes experience here. You are in a bus then Grace calls and all you heard through a buzzing sound was Come, money, now, die. ‘What!?’ ‘Hello’... ‘Grace, I can’t quite hear you’ ‘Please can you call me back? I am in a bus’

Then she calls back. You assume she didn’t hear you the first time. So you tell her that again and again in a rather loud voice before it occurs to you that you could send her a message. Come, money now, die made you panic but what Grace was trying to say was that you should come take the money in the evening and that she was calling you now because her battery was low and would soon die. It is hard not to answer important calls in a bus. It is harder to hear what the person on the other side is saying so you talk almost on top of your voice. Remember to send a text message. That is if you have credit on your phone.

Exchange words in a social networking site: Now, why would you ‘tweetfight’? I understand that people would come into your mentions and say a load of nonsense but you mustn’t answer them back. Yes, I know people can be so annoying. Imagine a girl talking arrant nonsense about you on twitter because you retweeted something her boyfriend tweeted. Imagine a guy saying that you look like Daffy Duck on Facebook. Of course you would want to say something but do not follow when these people begin to go on and on, use your ‘unfollow’, ‘block’ and ‘remove from friend list’ buttons. It is hard that is why even some celebs talk back and forth endlessly with someone they may never know because he/she made an insulting remark or something like that. It really isn’t worth it. Say something witty and just ignore them. And if you can’t stand seeing them, use the buttons.

Swear terribly: Yes, some of us do that when we are very angry but can we try not to do that around children? And in an office? It just doesn’t look good.

Take calls in church: Some of you might say ‘What? Who does that? Well, people do. And they come up with excuses for that. They might be good ones but you can switch off your phone. Or at least make it known that you’re in church with a message. It beats the hell out of bending down to say that hastily. That can be embarrassing too with people looking at you and hissing and stuff.

May God give us the wisdom to handle all kinds of situations.

Lily Johnson

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