I consider myself a good person. My intentions are always to put my best foot forward and treat others how I would like to be treated.
And then life happens…
- Someone cuts in front of me in line or on the road,
- a telephone operator is not trained to assist me,
- my husband says “in a minute”,
- or I run into a mean girl.
Sometimes when life is happening, I forget to be kind. I get frustrated, mad, impatient and terse. It’s not a good look to lose site of your kindness. Ever witness someone in a store yelling at the clerk or complaining loudly so everyone could hear them? It’s a little ugly. And I’m guilty on occasion of hiding my kindness away under my frustration.
My kindness pledge is to speak softly and listen more.
One of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is “Seek first to understand then to be understood”. I believe that is the foundation of kindness and it helps me keep my daily intention in perspective. It’s easy to forget there is a human being on the other side of our action/reaction. Tapping into the idea of empathy is at the core of kindness.
I know I am working in small ways to be kinder each day. I support you in your efforts and look forward to hearing about the amazing ways you are rocking kindness in your life.
Some good ways to get a leg up on kindness…
- Why Kindness is Important (Ellen)
- Prayer of Saint Francis
- Favorite Kindness Moment of 2013: Bat Kid
- Random Acts of Kindness
TODAY’S AFFIRMATION BADGE
How will you spread kindness today?
