It drives me crazy when people don't do the simple little things. I'm almost positive they're the same people who complain later when it backfires. There's so many tiny rules that are so EASY to follow and yet, so many people just ignore them.
Like on the light rail. Arizona got a new light rail a few years back. It's convenient for ASU students because it runs right through campus and all the way to downtown Phoenix. They've also provided free parking at a few stops so ASU students can save a bundle on parking. They still expect students to pay for their ride but they've made this process simple too. They provide a "U-pass" to students for $80 a year. All students have to do is tap their little card (literally tap, not slide, not shove in any hole just tap against the outside, it really doesn't even need to touch just hover over) on an orange square at the ticket booth and then their ride is paid for. I assume they want students to do this so they can track the success of the light rail. They want to be able to keep track of who is using it, how often, what stops, all that good stuff so they can consider whether or not they may make it bigger in the future. It's so important for Arizona to track this information that they require that students tap their card before boarding or they could receive a fine of up to $500.
It's very easy for anyone to hop on the light rail without tapping their card and most of the time you can ride care free and never have to show your card to anyone but every once in a while those security guards get on at a random stop and ask to see your card. They have a little scanner to see if you tapped your card and if you didn't... you got some 'splainin to do.
So why risk it? It takes two seconds to tap your card. You already paid for the card so it's not like it costs you anything but those precious two seconds to tap it. You're probably going to wait an average of five minutes until the next train arrives anyways so why not tap your freaking card?!
Another pet peeve of mine is dealing with cross walks. I don't understand J-walking in the first place. Especially if you're going to run into a crosswalk sometime anyways but you just decide "Oh, no cars are coming I'm gonna cross NOW!" But that's just a little pet peeve. My bigger pet peeve is j-walking when you ARE STANDING AT A CROSSWALK! How would someone do this, you ask?
It happens all the time in downtown Phoenix. People walk up to a light that they know rarely changes so instead of pressing the button and waiting for it to change, they look both ways and then run across the street as fast as they can. Why not press the button? It's such a small simple thing! You're going to stand there for five minutes looking for a chance to run across anyways, why not press the button in the mean time and maybe it'll stop the cars for you! No, no, no let's just run across and hope no cop gives us a ticket for j-walking. It does happen! So do the smart thing!
These are only a few examples but I feel like the simple things are over looked in many areas of life.
I'm LDS and the next stuff I say may come off offensive but I don't mean it to be. I just want to stress the simple stuff.
Recently President Boyd K. Packer gave a talk about homosexuality. I know members of my own religion who are struggling with it who took offense when President Packer did not mention getting outside help during his talk. Instead he focused on the religious aspect of overcoming homosexuality. He mentioned prayer, scripture study and the power of priesthood. He mentioned the simple things. People were highly offended but I wonder... when was the last time you really prayed? How often do you read your scriptures? Do you do them both together? How often do you thank the Lord for everything you do have? I don't mean to offend but I honestly believe it's the simple, consistent little things that make a difference and then therapy has a better chance of working!
I believe simple things also apply to marriages and keeping a clean house. I'm no expert on either of these things but I've experienced a little bit of it.
When my husband does simple little things like giving me a kiss hello or telling me I look pretty, it goes a long way. When I rinse off my dish and put it in the dishwasher right away, it makes it so much easier to get the dishes clean and put away later.
So why not do it? Why put off these things any longer? Yes I am comparing taking two seconds to tap your card to thanking the Lord for all you have or saying a prayer. I am comparing pressing the button at a cross walk to reading your scriptures or complimenting your spouse. I realize sometimes there are outside forces that complicate these things. Sometimes there is no button at the cross walk but I still believe the simple act of waiting for the light to change is safer than trying to cross alone!
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