Let me ask you a few questions.

Do you use your turn signal? Do you return your shopping cart to the front of the store, not just near the doors, but where the shopping carts actually live? Do you participate in the “zipper merge”? Do you say “thank you” to people who are doing their job, even though “it’s their job”?

Be honest. It’s just you and me here. Because, if you don’t — and you’re not alone in that — you aren’t really participating in a productive, cooperative community, are you?

Because we are in a community. Both in the small and large sense. And we can make it better when we remember to contribute to it, hold up our end of the bargain. Especially when others around us aren’t.

It’s community, not competition. But that's sort of what capitalism makes us believe — that we are competing with each other. We are going after our slice of the pie, and if somebody else gets a slice, well, that's taking away from us. That's not the case.

We are in community. And in a healthy community, when one person does well, we all do well. The tide raises all ships, right? But, right now, that's not how it's working. People are hoarding money, which is fine — like, do you. But the way it should be, when we are in community, if we're all doing well, we're all doing well. If everyone's supported, everyone's supported. There isn't anyone left dangling, suffering or impoverished.

We're supposed to be the greatest nation, right? Well, look at us. We forget we're in community. We make it a competition. And that needs to stop.

There is plenty of room at the table. We just have to scooch over. If we run out of something, we'll just make more. None of this is hard. When we stop seeing others as a competitive threat, we can collaborate, and accomplish good things quicker. And better.

Like using your turn signal. A lane change isn’t a national secret, FFS. It’s communication. Let people know what you’re doing and you might find more courtesy and fewer middle fingers coming at you.

Returning your shopping cart shows that you respect the process. The cart is provided for your convenience…and, yeah, sure, so you’ll buy more. But, you know the carts with the wonky wheel? That would happen less if everyone showed some respect for the cart and returned it back where it belonged. Not to get hit. Not to be hurled up a curb and parked in the plants. And that person whose job you believe it is to collect the carts, they also have other tasks to do. They shouldn’t have to clean up after you. Take it all the way back to where it belongs.

The zipper merge is super simple and is shown to improve traffic. But do you do it? Do you block people trying to merge over because that’s your spot? Or, almost as bad, do you try to merge too early and slow the flow? Look, driving is not a form of creative expression. This is a precision craft. Be part of the solution, not the problem. I’ve added a link to a study on the zipper merge in the show notes if you don’t believe it’s a good thing. It is. It’s cooperation. It’s community.

https://itre.ncsu.edu/itre-studying-how-zipper-merges-reduce-congestion-at-sites-across-north-carolina/

And do you thank the people you interact with? I hope you do and don’t just take for granted they are “doing their job”. Please. Thank gawd they are because gawd forbid you have to make your own lattes, right? I mean, I do make mine most of the time, but I am deeply thankful for the people who do that job when I am short on time or just ain’t in the mood. 

Just because it’s the person’s job doesn’t mean you shouldn’t appreciate the time and care they put into it. Imagine if your boss or clients or colleagues actually thanked you from time to time for your hard work, even though it’s your job. We need people doing their jobs to make the community function. And they deserve our appreciation.

When you do these simple things, like use your turn signal, return your cart, merge properly and show your appreciation, you will feel better. It will deepen your eudaimonic wellbeing. Feeling connected is part of being happy. And, sure, you may not know the people you are merging with but you are connected to them. We are all connected. We are all one. It just doesn’t feel that way right now because too many people want us divided. But we don’t have to play that game.

We don't have to make this hard on ourselves. No one's trying to take anything away from you. That's the thing. That's the boogeyman, right? We're made to believe that someone is out to get our slice. No. Well, maybe it is a little true, but it's coming from the top. It’s the people at the top who want to hold on to everything. The income disparity between a CEO and an entry level employee is an affront to society, to community. And those companies making billions, have training videos for their employees to show them how to apply for assistance. There is no shame in needing assistance. There's not. I've needed it before. But when you're a billion-dollar company, and you refuse to pay your employees a living wage, then also back politicians that want to cut social support and benefits, that's absurd. It’s cruel. And that's not always how it was. And we can change that. And it starts by remembering we're in community, not competition. 

When we focus on our eudaimonic wellbeing, nurturing that authentic happiness, all of this becomes second nature. Because part of eudaimonic wellbeing is feeling that connection to community, contributing to that. We do it, not just because we should, but because it actually feels good and it inspires others to do the same. It’s part of being disrupty. It will help shake others out of the trance and remind them how it should be rather than how it is. Flex that muscle. Be that kind of rebel.