You may be expecting some lengthy explanation about how retail has made me hate people and how I spend my hours counting down to the moment I can leave. However, from my time helping customers in the retail setting I was able to take away some important life lessons. I think everyone can gain a little from working a retail job.

1. Remaining positive and smiling can get you through (almost) anything.

There are always going to be a few less than kind, polite, or rational customers. Showing that it makes you upset never makes these situations better, but they can get you down if you allow it to. Being positive even in the face of less than ideal situations helps to keep a positive outlook on the day and prevents the situation from getting worse. I can now say that I have never been yelled at by a customer. Maybe I won the retail lottery, but I have to think it has something to do with my outlook. It's pretty hard for people to yell at you if you keep a smile on your face and don't let them phase you.

Life is a lot like this. You are going to have difficulties hurtled your way. If you look at it in a negative way it will seem a lot worse than it is. Just as when dealing with difficult customers, being positive helps remedy the situation, and eventually the problem leaves, just like the less than ideal customer.

2. You can get better at the things you thought weren't possible to improve upon.

When I started my job, I didn't know where many things were in the store, my selling of products wasn't that great, and I resigned myself to never getting people to open store credit cards. Currently, I can tell you the location of almost every item in store and am extremely comfortable selling products. I even have gotten people to open store cards! Retail, as with other jobs, takes a little time to get the hang of. Putting in the effort and striving to improve can lead to good results, a lesson that can be applied to the rest of your life as well.

3. Just because something starts out with flaws doesn't mean you can't do a good job.

Working as a cashier, when customers would come up to the register we had a specific spiel we had to give. Throughout the transaction there were a lot of questions we had to ask to fulfill requirements and sell additional products. If the line was long a customer might not start off having a positive experience with checkout. I even sometimes stuttered over a few of the words, despite knowing the speech pretty well. Even when the transaction didn't go according to plan, handling my job with professionalism and a positive attitude could help leave the customer with a positive experience. Just because something starts off with hiccups doesn't mean it has to end that way. Just as in retail transactions, life doesn't always go perfectly. We have the power to turn things around with the way we respond.

4. Doing your best is noticed and is important.

Sure you may be able to give partial effort and get by in your position, but you aren't doing the best you can do. Your manager may not be staring at you as you help customers all day, but if you give your all, people will notice that. Even if you don't work in retail forever that is a lesson to be carried with you. Hard work is recognized even when you don't immediately see the benefits. I was given better shifts, extra effort by managers to give me days off and even got employee of the month 2 out of 3 months in the store. If you are always doing all you can do, people are far more accepting of an off day and will trust you with more responsibility in the future.

5. The horror stories aren't too frequent and may even be avoidable.

Sure, my incredibly absurd stories are great for laughs and amusement at the end of the day. In a shift when I rang up over a hundred people I may not have a crazy story. Sometimes a transaction starts off awkward but by engaging with the guest you can usually turn that around. Maybe that can be applied to other interactions with people we encounter. Reaching out in a situation that is odd may lead to better understanding of others.

6. Let the craziness roll right off your back.

I have had some pretty weird interactions ... not angry, just weird. One time a customer noticed a cut on my arm and asked me if it was from shooting up heroine. It definitely was not from drugs. Another customer asked me what color my eyes were and proceeded to stare directly into my eyes as I got him change. To be honest though, all these stories are just that, stories. It doesn't have a lasting impact on my day, apart from a good laugh later. It really taught me to laugh at the weirdness you come across. It honestly isn't worth stressing about or dwelling on, let it roll right off your back.