[Daily Life] 8 characteristics of people who make you feel like you could get along well.
The other day, while walking through a commercial facility in Sapporo, I overheard this conversation between two women.
“I’m just going to the restroom!”
“Okay, have a nice trip-let!”
...
...I thought.
Somehow, I feel like I could get along with them.
I don't know why, but I feel like I could get along with someone who responds to “I’m going to the restroom” with “Have a nice trip-let.” Usually, people just say “Oh, okay,” but there is something indescribable in the spirit of adding a bit of playfulness to it.
So, today, I would like to write down 8 characteristics of people I personally feel I could get along with one by one.8
Let’s get along!
[1] People who give you chocolate
I don't know why, but from the very first point, I feel like I could get along with someone who, when I’m feeling restless because I’m a little hungry, says, “Oh, I have some chocolate, do you want some?” and pulls a bite-sized piece of chocolate out of their bag.
[2] People who carry a stapler
The theory here is similar to the chocolate one, but when someone pulls out something that 'you wouldn't normally expect someone to have,' I feel like I could get along with them. It's that single phrase: 'A stapler? Yeah, I've got one.'
[3] The company president who asks, 'How about some lunch?'
I feel like I could get along with this person, too. If I'm in a business meeting feeling a bit on edge and thinking they're hard to read, and then they say, 'How about we grab some lunch now?', my face lights up and I think, 'Oh, maybe they like me.'
[4] People who are conscious of 'ra-nuki' (omitted 'ra') verb forms
When someone is about to eat something and says, 'Oh, [Name], can you eat natto?'—using 'taberaremasu ka' instead of the 'taberemasu ka' that most people use—I think to myself that they are clearly conscious of the 'ra-nuki' verb form, and I give them a little round of applause in my heart.
[5] People who laugh at your analogies
When someone explains, 'This is an experiential farm, and there's a cafe and souvenir shop next to the cow barn where you can take a tour,' and I say, 'It's just like Disneyland,' I feel like I could get along with someone who laughs and says, 'Yes, that exact structure of letting people experience things and then making them buy merchandise.'
[6] Women wearing vivid green skirts
This is a personal preference, but I get the feeling I could get along with someone just because they have a pop of color in their outfit. I think it's wonderful that they have the attitude to express their individuality so boldly when most people would tend to choose gray, brown, or white.
[7] People whose voices sound like they're smiling when they answer the phone
When I see a total stranger answer the phone in a bright tone like, 'Hell-o! What's up, what's up!', I think, 'Oh, this person is sharing their energy with others,' and I feel like I could get along with them.
[8] People who say 'That sounds good' at the second item you order
When you're at an izakaya and you say, 'Um, one order of asparagus tempura,' and they don't react, but when you say the second item, 'And one order of rolled omelet,' they say, 'That sounds good,' I feel like they aren't just giving a half-hearted response, and I start to look forward to our future relationship.
Yeah, people I could get along with are, in a word,'kind people', I think, while also telling myself, 'Well, that's obvious.'
So, I've just written down some thoughts like that.
I wrote this article in a waiting room while waiting an hour for a local train on my way back from having lunch with a kind-hearted company president in a certain part of Hokkaido. In short, I was treated to lunch, we talked about all sorts of things, and my heart felt warm.
It's all warm and fuzzy.
<Afterword>
If a stapler came out of someone's bag, I would be genuinely surprised. I'd probably say, 'Whoa! You have one on you?' Since a person you feel you could get along with is just how they appear from your perspective, I meet people today hoping that I, too, appear as a 'person they could get along with' from their perspective. Thank you for reading until the end.
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