Being Kind
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Mark Twain
With all the news we hear these days about “bullying,” and the media seeming to pick up on all the awful things happening in the world, I started thinking about KINDNESS and how we can have a part of "changing" the world with this one very important attribute.
It's important that we dwell on the positive instead of the negative; we can reach a lot more people and make a huge impact on others by modeling kindness every single day.
What does KINDNESS mean to you?
benevolence, humanity, generosity, charity, sympathy, compassion, tenderness.
When I read these words, it makes me think of Mother Teresa and how she always reached out in kindness to those around her, giving them love and hope despite their circumstances. She modeled the love of Jesus throughout her life and touched countless lives. She's a great example of "kindness" being lived out.
Our actions speak louder than our words. Thus we are in a constant teaching mode as it comes to teaching kindness or anything that we want modeled from our behavior.
When our children, co-workers, friends and family members see us being kind to others, it has the same kind of result that a smile brings – it can actually be contagious
We can’t help but love the feeling that we have when someone is truly genuine and kind to us. The feeling we have is something that makes us feel good and in turn we want to pass it on to others Thus the best way to teach kindness is simply to “live it” every day.
There are a lot of "simple" activities that we can include in our daily routine that will help us model this type of behavior – that of being kind.
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Opening a door for someone
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Giving someone our full attention instead of looking all over the place when they're talking to us
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Offering to let someone go ahead of us in the check out lane
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NOT showing road rage when someone cuts you off on the roadway –
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Sending someone a note of encouagement or gratitude unexpectedly.
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Asking someone how their day went and then really "listening" when they tell us.
These are are just a few simple little ways that we can incorporate into our everyday life. I know that you can think of many more! PLUS it's fun simply watching your kids and learning from them! My 3-year old grandson amazes me at times with his genuine heart and loving kindness to others. His parents model this kindness.
It’s amazing what a difference it can make when we hear the words “please” and “thank you” and if you’re lucky enough to have a Southerner in your life, you’re probably going to hear the words “No sir” “Yes Ma’am” and a lot of other polite responses.
Let’s all make an intentional effort every day to reach out in kindness not only to our family and friends, but to the stranger we meet along the way.
Giving someone eye contact along with a smile is something we don’t see all the time. People are in a hurry, they have their minds on 100 things at once, and many times we become so engrossed in our techy toys that we miss out on getting to know someone on a deeper level because we get too self absorbed.
I’d like to challenge you to intentionally do something kind for someone every single day. I can almost guarantee you that you aren’t going to want to stop with that one person. It becomes a habit and it becomes contagious!
Let’s spread a whole lot of kindness all over the world and be a part of changing lives. It all starts with the simple act of kindness.
In your professional life, your business will stand out from the rest when your clients/customers see the attribute of kindness that shows up simply by being the kind of coach/mentor/leader/boss who genuinely cares about others and puts relationships first. When you stand out in this way, you and your business will thrive!
"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."
Og Mandino
Would love to hear your comments below. What's one act of kindness that someone showed to you unexpectedly? Come on over to Facebook and share on my wall. Have a great day!
Sue Graber has been happily married for 35 years, raising 3 daughters while working creatively from home in a variety of roles, including being a fund-raising specialist. She loves reaching out to others in kindness and is on a mission. She has an amazing ability to teach others how to build and nurture relationships, spend quality time with their families while establishing their own card and gifting business. Sue is passionate about showing others how they, too, can make a difference every single day!
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for the life reminders!
Being kind is so easy, why don’t we do it all the time? I think because we think somuchof ourselves; when we think more about others than oursleves our attitude will completely change for the good. Once the thought hits me to be kind to people, I love to step out and do something nice for somebody as small as a nice smile or a little handwave to a child and even some bigger things, but DO something!! Thanks Sue!
I try to do this everyday Sue. The littlest things make a huge difference. Thanks for such a great post.
Love this Sue! So often people think that being kind is something one either has or doesn’t have in their ‘make-up’ when in fact it is something that can be taught and learned! Hope parents are paying attention to this article too!! Thanks!
Thanks, Denny. Definitely something worth teaching to our children! As important as the ABC’s!
Never underestimate the power of kindness or the power of a kind word…this is a very important post, Sue, and I am sharing it. Thank you!
Thanks, Sheri, for sharing it and for the comment! You’re absolutely right; there can be so much power in changing lives simply by being kind!
I know that one of the biggest reason we were so successful in our last business was because we treated people well. I can’t tell you the number of clients who had left us to work with someone who undercut us by $5 per report (15%) and came back later and said it was a small price per report to pay to be treated well.
So true Becky! Kindness goes a long way in keeping our relationships intact. Glad your clients could see this!
Love your tips and of course..being kind is so much easier on the mind and soul…it definitely takes more energy to be upset…I’d rather use that energy elsewhere…thanks for sharing:)
Very true.. Thanks for stopping by!
Beautiful! Such a simple, powerful idea— thanks for shining the light!
Thanks Heather! Appreciate your comment!
Beautiful post! Thank you for the reminders to be kind – it really does change your day when you approach it with kindness. I’m not so sure about the road rage part though
HA HA… Definitely need to try a little harder to be kind when driving, esp with everyone on their phones and not paying attention. Need to teach them something more than kindness !
Lovely post, Sue. And thanks for the reminder!
You’re welcome. Appreciate your comment!
Love you article. Beng kind is so much easier on all of us that being reactive!
Absolutely!! Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for such an inspiring post Sue! It is so important that even small kind acts make a big difference. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Sarah! You never know what even a small act of kindness might do in someone’s life… very true!
Well, I must say I am not surprised you are writing a post about kindness, after all, you are a leading example of such.
Thank you for being you, Sue, I have no doubt you have affected many lives!
Great post, great message and great challange!
Thanks, Suzanne! I appreciate your kind words. Being kind really does make us happier and very blessed. Appreciate you!
Good reminders to show compassion and love daily. You just never know whose day you will make by smiling, saying an uplifting hello or compliment…someday someone may just return the favor when you need it most.
This is so good Sue! Kindness is so important . I try to be kind and often we receive kindness in return.. even if we don’t we will get a good feeling for doing the right thing and being kind.
It’s amazing how something so simple and FREE can feel so good not only to the other person but to ourselves.
Sue, thank you for the reminder to be kind to everyone! You have such a good heart.
Great lessons to live by and teach my children! Thank you! Marcy
Thank you Ma’am for sharing this great piece with all of us folks. In case you didn’t notice, that’s my California attempt at using some of the Southern lingo you presented in your article =)
I absolutely love this post Sue. Such a great reminder that the simple things in life are the ones that make all the difference. I completely agree, we hurry through life so much we almost forget how a smile or kind word can make someone’s day. Little stuff, but huge stuff. Whenever I make eye contact with someone at a checkout lane I can always tell that it’s unusual for people to even notice them, and certainly rare that someone actually talks to them! Slow down and be present!
Thanks for making a point to write about kindness, what it means and it’s effects. I know when I do something kind for someone, it makes me feel really good. I hope it makes that person feel good to the point where they in turn do something kind for someone else. It can be contagious.
LOVE this article Sue! So many simple and profound ideas. And, yes, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Thank you for the challenge!
Thank you for sharing from your beautiful heart, Sue! When I think of someone who is kind, you are one of the first people that I think of. Thank you, for being You!