In a world where you can be anything be kind

 

Hi again fellow readers, I hope you are doing well. For this week's post I want to discuss kindness.

When you first search kindness into Google the following description comes up: 'The quality of being friendly, generous and considerate'. This quality is something I believe is very important to hold.

I had an experience at work last week, which really showed me the damage and pain we can cause when we aren't kind. I had to ring an individual about a financial issue and sadly the conversation escalated very quickly. Instead of listening to what I was saying, she jumped to a conclusion and became quite nasty. The language turned into threats and sharp words. It left me in shock. A conversation about an issue that could have been solved easily if only she had a more friendly and considerate approach.

I can't go into too much detail about the call, to respect her privacy but something that could have taken less that 2 minutes on the phone turned into 10, with other staff having to get involved. It showed me the dark side to humanity. That call took all the energy out of me for the rest of the day and I came home with the biggest headache. I bet she felt very similar that evening too. By choosing to be defensive and angry it negatively impacted mine, hers and even my teams day. And that's when I realised, if she chose to be kinder instead, understanding that errors can be made and that I was trying to help, we would have all had a much better day. I would have left the call with more energy, determined to get her problem solved and she could have left the call content that it was going to be sorted. It really reminded me that there is so much power in being kind and it's a quality I will continue to hold.

I know kindness doesn't always come to us easily and I'm sure there will always be certain people that push our buttons. However, we can work on our mindset to push kindness to the forefront of our responses. Here's some ways I think we can do just that.  

1- Be grateful / notice the blessings you have

When we choose to be grateful for what we have, it elevates our mood and helps us see all the good in our lives. One way I implement gratitude into my daily habits is by writing down three things I'm grateful for each morning. I always look for something new to be grateful for each day.  I have noticed since doing this I feel more positive and when difficult situations occur, I can respond more calmly and effectively.  

2- Remember you can never fully understand what another is going through 

We only see and will only ever see the world from own perspective. We can always try to understand each other but we can only see truly through our own lens. When I find myself getting annoyed over someone's actions I remind myself of this. We might not always agree with someone's actions but we should try not to judge them for it because we don't know what has influenced them to respond in such a way. 

 I like to use these experiences as opportunities to grow, thinking about what lessons I can learn from this situation rather than getting angry.

3- Spot acts of kindness from others

Noticing acts of kindness is great for helping you to see the positive aspects of life. It will also inspire you to take action yourself. The world we live in can be so crazy and fast that we miss seeing the beauty. Make a conscious effort to look out for people's kind actions.  

4- Spots acts of kindness towards you & note how it makes you feel 

Linking to the point above, it can be so easy to miss all the kind acts someone does for you, for example someone who opened the door for you. Acts of kindness can be so quick that we forget about it. I recommend starting a journal where you note down what kind acts people do for you and how it makes you feel. This will help you see how powerful kindness can be and thus encourage you to be kinder to others. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's blog. I would love to know what you think about kindness. Is a quality you see often in others? Is it something you value? Please leave a comment telling me what you think.

Speak soon,

Mx