This is a piece taken from Living in the Storm. I hope that you will enjoy it and find great value in being a happy waiter.

The Happy Waiter

I will not claim that a waiter has the happiest job in the world, but I have sure seen some happy waiters. If you consider the work they perform, it should be easy to imagine their joy. You may not see it quite yet, but it seems so obvious to me. The overall function of their job is to give people what they want. This can be said for many professions, but a few things stand out about waiters. They often come into our lives when we are having good times with friends, celebrating, or just meeting to share a meal together. They are there to help us feel good, and extinguish our hunger. They are really a lot more important to us than it may seem at first glimpse.

The happy waiter, the one who really loves what they do, shares their positivity and gives us something to smile about. Perhaps the cynic would say that they are just working hard for a bigger tip, but that is the cynic. Cynicism has no value here.

Can you remember a really happy waiter? I can, and I see them as a great reminder of pride and joy that comes from serving others. In fact, one that comes to mind has not served me in over thirty years. He was a waiter who used to make funny faces at me and my brothers while standing behind our parents. When our parents would look around to see what we were laughing at, he would just shrug and act as if he had no idea what was going on. Maybe you think that I should have little reason to recall this man, but I do, and his name is Mahmoud Nasrazadani. As kids, we thought his name was cool. We never knew somebody with such a unique name, so it stood out, and I still remember his silly antics.

I am not saying that you may remember a waiter from your childhood, but I will say that the cumulative effect of people who treat you nicely and make you smile have much to do with the person you are. Maybe I am one of the few who remember Mahmoud in this way, but how compelling is it to imagine being one of those people that others will remember so many years later?

Of course, this will not be the same for all waiters, and it has much to do with how they see their work. The waiter who will give the best service is the one who truly enjoys creating joy, and you can spot them quickly. They are the kind of people you come back and request when you visit their restaurant. I think we should all try to learn from these people and try to be a happy waiter in our own lives.

The same trait of receiving joy from giving joy is available regardless of your profession or whether you have any job at all. A good lesson I consider is from my 92 year old grandmother who takes time each week to volunteer at “the old folks home”. I laugh when I hear her call it that, because many of the residents are much younger than her. She volunteers her time to serve them food and best of all, to make them smile. She is a happy waiter.

The very powerful feelings that come from helping others can be noted as some of the best success stories in your life. Just think for a moment about times that you have done something nice for others, and how it made you feel. There is no doubt that when you do this enough that it can form a truly valuable habit. Other people watch and learn from your actions, and will often follow your lead.

Becoming “The Happy Waiter” can start as simple acts of kindness and consideration of others. If you do it each day, in some way, you should never wonder if somebody received a benefit. The person receiving the greatest benefit is often you.

I certainly should mention the downside to being happy by creating happiness for others. There is always the cynical person who will call happy people “fake”. Before you decide to be happier by serving joy to others, I must first pose this very important question:

Would you rather receive suspicion of falseness for being happy and spreading joy, or as genuine for being grumpy and cynical?

I would rather be seen as fake for being optimistic than genuine for being a cynic. I know which of these is happier. If you are one of those cynics, you had better stick around and keep reading. You may be really surprised to find how much joy you are missing.

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