I'm a Work in progress

I'm going to have to print this off and post it to my bathroom mirror, computer, steering wheel, and on every mean person i encounter......

"The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. "- Socrates

I Love this quote. I have found myself thinking of this quite often over the past year. Not that I put alot of emphasis on reputations but I feel that everyone has an idea of the kind of person they want to be and how they want to be perceived by others. I want to be a good person, and be the kind of person that others would see as a "positive" instead of a "negative". I think almost everyone wants to be viewed as a decent human being. Not that my happiness is determined by what others think of me at all. The quote makes me have more in depth compassion for others though. You can easily find faults in anyone, in fact, as I wrote that sentence i thought of 3 of mine right off the top of my head...my point is....
Sometimes people just fall short of who they want to be. I can wake up with the best intentions of being the sweetest, compassionate person I can possibly be and the day can get in my way and I don't reach my own expectations. I'm not just talking about how the world perceives me either. I'm just as accountable for my thoughts
I'm striving to give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm going to focus on the good. I'm going to continue to try and see where people are coming from and I am going to be more compassionate. Because sometimes, you just get a glimpse of a person when they are caught up in their own bad day and I hope if i get caught up in a bad day, those who witness it will give me a free pass.
Sometimes people just fall short and instead of stepping over them, or on them when they are down, you might want to exceed your own expectations, and help them up because tomorrow, it might just be you stumbling.