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When I was a teenager I would go shopping with my friends and afterward we would sit at the bus stop, in the stairway of a closed store, watching people for hours. We thought, that it was most interesting to observe them walking by, going shopping, stopping by the fast food place, hugging, kissing and getting off and on the bus.
On of our favorite things to do was have fun judging which of the boys and men coming by was the cutest and "assigning" the next guy walking by to one of our girl friends as her prospective boyfriend and laughing at the results when it ended up being some unsuspecting grandpa.

But for me watching people today is a lot more than just a past time, indeed.

1. By studying people you will discover a lot of characteristics, such as behaviors, manners, moods, body language, gestures and the way they might dress, which can be useful in communicating with them. You want to approach a shy person differently than an outgoing one, for example!

2. You can also use other people's mistakes to your advantage, by observing their actions and reactions in any given situation. That way you can avoid a lot of unpleasant experiences, and rather than making mistakes yourself, learn from those of others.

3. If you are an employer, watching your employees can be very helpful in providing productive feedback. Be sure to take into acct their general attitude towards you and their work to make your feedback sessions a success. Notice specific actions and behaviors to give appropriate advice!

4. Watch people and catch them doing something right! Give cheer and appreciation to the person you are observing they will thank you and appreciate you more, too!
5. You can choose to pick one or more role model(s) from the people you observe and learn to mimic their success moves to achieve maximum success in your own undertakings.

6. If you have had a "bad" day, you may want to focus your attention onto other individuals in order to regain a better outlook. You might be able to pick up on someone else's positive attitude or at least realize that there are less fortunate people out there who are in a much worse situation than you and come to the conclusion that you actually have reason to be grateful, even if things are not perfect.

7. In any situation it is extremely advisable to be aware of your surroundings and the people herein. You never know when there might be someone needing your help in, let's say, a medical emergency. Their behavior will first change subtly, then drastically;

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