• Decorate Your Daily Life with Decorum by Nicole Morgan

    Did the title of this blog grab your attention? I hope so, because I wanted to talk about something that I’m sure we’ve all noticed. It’s a growing trend and it stretches as far from little kids in pre-school to grown adults who claim to teach their children how to behave politely. It’s called rudeness.

    Oh sure, it can be labeled in many different ways, but it all has the same effect. Have you ever witnessed it? I’m positive you have. It can be found in a grocery store, a city park and even on the World Wide Web. It comes in many forms. When in person, a rude person can use their body language, hand gestures and facial expressions to get their anger across. That – in my opinion – is the less severe of the occurrences. One of the most brutal forms of abusive behavior seems to be found on-line.

    The internet has become a stomping ground for bullies who I used to believe did their dirty work on the playground. Sadly, it seems that with the growing trend of social networking sites some people have found themselves to be larger than life, ten feet tall and bullet proof, and honestly too many have used their keyboard as a vicious and vile weapon. My only question is, why?

    Now, don’t get me wrong. This isn’t to bash the “mean people” of the world. Nor is it to say that I am a perfect individual who has only spread joy and sunshine to others. Truthfully, I don’t believe people are mean per se. I do however believe they are human, and with that come all sorts of emotions. We are a unique species in that we have the ability to think things through.

    Even some of the most intelligent animals act more on a primal basis than they do on emotions. This same ability is what makes us amazing creatures, but at the same time can make us spiteful in our actions. Like with any life form, we must mature as we age. Even a fine wine which has been aged to perfection can have a hint of bitterness to it though.

    Before I get too far into this allow me to explain something of utmost importance. I am not perfect, far from it in fact. I have been guilty of tons of character flaws and social blunders in both my personal and professional life. Like everything else in my life, I’ve tried to learn from those mistakes and be a better person for them. Does that mean that I can’t still make the occasional error in judgment? Absolutely not! I am a sensitive woman who has a thin skin sometimes. When you combine that with being a writer who is very tapped into her emotions you are bound to slip up from time to time. However, with all that being said I make a conscience effort every day to watch for signs that I may be slipping back into old habits. I do this because I know all too well how it feels to be on the receiving end of someone’s nastiness. In turn, I remind myself that I must try to never to reflect negative energy onto others.

    Some of you may be thinking at this point, okay, hold on here, negative energy? What is this some sort of mumbo jumbo about auras and karma? Well, I’m not talking any mumbo jumbo I can assure you. To further this let me ask, how many of you have been having just an okay day?

    You know, one of those days that isn’t bad, but isn’t necessarily good either? Then someone shifts your mood in one particular direction based on how they treat you? How many of us have gone from so-so to down-right miserable because of someone’s treatment towards us? It can really be a downer to have someone do this to you. More often than not we don’t see it coming and it completely blindsides us. However, if you flip the coin around and look at it from the other angle someone’s treatment of us can have a wonderful effect if their words and actions are positive. Who has had their mediocre mood turned into an outstanding one because of the smile someone brought to your day? Whether with kind words or gestures someone truly can turn a frown upside down!

    I suppose at this point I should summarize my thoughts and get to my point of this guest blog. Many of you who are reading this are probably authors, and – I hope – that our main goal is to bring a little bit of happiness to our reader’s lives through our stories. Aren’t our stories just another form of entertainment? Instead of being on the silver screen, our tales are told on paper. If we hope to spread joy, should we not also do so with our daily actions? This brings me back to something I mentioned earlier, social networking sites. On the internet there are some ones available for people in all walks of life to enjoy. With these various avenues available to us sometimes people can forget their decorum. Sadly, manners can all but be forgotten when dealing with others on-line. This is what troubles me, on both a personal and professional level. I know it may sound a bit cheesy and even a little too naïve, but why not just be nice? Does everyone remember that old saying, “if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all”? Well, as kindergarten as it sounds I say it’s darn good advice!

    My hope is that everyone reading this post reminds themselves to take a moment before they react to others. A single second can make the difference in how you may respond to someone. I remind myself of this daily and make sure that I give myself that much needed moment so I don’t let my feelings or emotions control how I behave. Do I always succeed? Nope, but I sure get back up on that horse every time I fall.

    We each have our own unique gifts to share with the world, just as we have flaws which we try to hide. With both we can find ourselves in a dilemma. If you find that feeling of rudeness creeping up on you, please take a moment and remember that all others are human as well. They breathe just as you, they bleed just as you, and they cry just as you... before being the cause for someone else's pain or tears, instead spread the most contagious action of all... kindness ~ You will be glad that you did.






    Nicole Morgan was an avid reader who kept having one recurring problem. Ideas of stories kept popping into her head. Today Nicole is an author of erotic romantic novels, which more often than not have a suspenseful back story. Erotic romance mixed with a good old-fashioned whodunit. She tries to place strong emphasis on the characters’ emotions while also throwing in some spicy and hot love scenes. Her alpha male of choice will more often than not have a uniform of some kind. From military to police officers, she has a love for writing about those who protect and serve.

    While still trying to stay true to her style, she is finding her writing is evolving as she takes on new and uncharted territory for her. There are many areas of erotica out there that she hasn’t had a chance to really delve into just yet, but she is anxiously looking forward to doing just that. She currently lives in the Rocky Mountain region with her fiancé who has shown her a real life version of happily ever after.




    Book Blurb:

    The Callaway Corporation recently bought the high-end resort property Jenny Jacobson manages. In that time, they have micromanaged both her and it into the ground. With no budget for repairs she does most of the work herself.

    In the middle of a plumbing emergency, Beck comes to her rescue and fixes the problem, saving her from further disaster and costly repairs. Despite her best attempts, she cannot seem to get away from this man.

    Regardless of her cold treatment toward him, he turns on his charms. Will his cocky arrogance mixed with his sexy smile break down her tough exterior? If so, what secrets is Beck keeping that could ultimately ruin any chance they have to find happiness together?

    Direct Purchase Link: https://spsilverpublishing.com/produ...oducts_id/983/
    Comments 9 Comments
    1. AirickaPhoenix's Avatar
      Hello Ms. Morgan,

      Thank you so much for this informative and sorely needed article. It's only a shame it even has to be said. That people actually think some of their atrocious behavior is warranted. I have seen first hand what people online have done to each other with only a few key strokes and it has always left me feeling disgusted. I wish more people had the sense, as you say, to use more decorum online as they do --hopefully-- offline.

      Thank you again! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

      Best wishes,
      Airicka
    1. NicoleMorganAuthor's Avatar
      Thank you, Airicka. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully the word will spread.

      Quote Originally Posted by AirickaPhoenix View Post
      Hello Ms. Morgan,

      Thank you so much for this informative and sorely needed article. It's only a shame it even has to be said. That people actually think some of their atrocious behavior is warranted. I have seen first hand what people online have done to each other with only a few key strokes and it has always left me feeling disgusted. I wish more people had the sense, as you say, to use more decorum online as they do --hopefully-- offline.

      Thank you again! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

      Best wishes,
      Airicka
    1. Linda Bass's Avatar
      hi Nic! mothers should do what my mom did as raised 4 kids and all have advanced degrees, too bad they didn't raise theirs like i did them! lol
    1. Mary Lou George's Avatar
      Yes Nicole the title grabbed my attention and I couldn't agree with you more. When did 'nice' become a four letter word with a negative connotation? Maybe around the same time that 'pimp' lent itself to positive connotations.

      I say we need to bring 'nice' back. The world needs it now more than ever. I'm not asking for perfection, though the endeavour is worth the journey if it's done in the right spirit. I find that saying something kind to another person not only brightens their day but brings some light into mine as well and I try to act on it as often as possible. I truly believe however that respectful disagreement nourishes us all. In fact, I've learned a great deal from lively debate. Oh yes there are some nasty characters out there that I can't abide and I reserve the right to lock and load when necessary, but I'm trying to keep that kind of stuff to a minimum. It often has little effect and just raises my blood pressure.

      I think commenting online is a little like being in a car. People think that since they're in their own protected space they can honk all they want without observing common courtesy. Not so! Hopefully, more people will speak up and we'll see a change. I'm not going to hold my breath, I'm an optimist not a fool – but I'll embrace it if it comes.

      Thanks for addressing the issue, Nicole. These days 'edgy' seems to get more air play, but I like to think the pendulum is starting to swing. Maybe you've given it another nudge in the right direction.

      Mary Lou George
      Novelist, Siren/Bookstrand
    1. MaggieShipp's Avatar
      What about twitter? A lot of people think they can say exactly what they want, no matter how rude, brutal or cruel and then, and this annoys me even more, they don't put their own name to it. They're actually cowards and bullies. I do think that if people abuse facebook, twitter or anything else their accounts should be closed down. Rudeness seems to be the one growing commodity in our community and you have to look at how these people are being raised. You can't suddenly begin to tell a fourteen year old how to behave correctly, it begins when they are toddlers. Mary Lou is right. We need to bring nice back. Or failing that, decent manners.
    1. Denise Hall's Avatar
      Thank you for a great article on a subject that needs to be addressed. I, too, have been dismayed at some of the comments I've seen online. Such rude behavior has turned me away from commenting in many places for fear of being attacked. I'm not a delicate flower, but some days you just don't need to deal with that kind of *stuff*. You have inspired me to be more vocal about spreading kindness online.
    1. NicoleMorganAuthor's Avatar
      Denise, I'm so glad that I've inspired you to be more vocal. My hopes is that the less than kind people will also be inspired to be a bit more nice.
    1. NicoleMorganAuthor's Avatar
      Maggie, Oh yes.. twitter is also a popular playground for some internet games. Too many adults have forgotten their manners.
    1. NicoleMorganAuthor's Avatar
      Mary Lou... Here here! I hope the pendulum is swinging in the right direction. I'm all over change! Out with the mean and in with the nice.
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