The power of Kindness is one thing that can never be understated. And in this world where violence and negativity are everywhere, kindness is more important than ever. We need kindness to create the change we want to see in ourselves, our communities, and our country. Kindness makes us feel good about ourselves, it’s contagious, and it means remembering others are just as important as ourselves. There are so many ways to show kindness every day—some small and simple, others big and complex. But all of them have one thing in common: they make our world a little better. Here are some ways you can share your kindness with the world today.
Let’s Not Conflate Kindness & Weakness
Kindness is not a new concept. It’s been around for thousands of years and has been an essential part of religion and spirituality. In recent times, especially in business, the culture that’s been fostered is one in which kindness is often labeled as weakness. This is a mindset that is grounded in feelings of insecurity & lacking. A foundation which tells us that people will take advantage of us if we are kind. That if we aren’t hardened and merciless, we will surely lose the “game.”
Indeed, nothing could be farther from the truth. Kindness takes immense amounts of bravery and strength…because the fact of the matter is that some people WILL take advantage of that. It requires a great deal of fortitude and courage to offer it, anyway, knowing that most often our kindness will be met with appreciation and gratitude. Conversely, weakness actually lies in allowing those who will exploit our kind-heartedness and grace for their own selfish gain to influence how we conduct ourselves. Finding the strength to deploy humanity, because we know it’s the right thing, even though it may bring challenge and possibly even harm, is a strategy that will always win over the long term.
We Can’t Share What We Don’t Have
The best, and most critical place to start developing a practice of kindness is “at home.” We are much more likely to be kind to others if we are practiced at being kind to ourselves. It’s all too easy to allow our feelings of shame and inadequacy that arise from perceived failures or past misdeeds to allow us to diminish our self-confidence and our value to the world. In turn, when we then go out and engage with others we subconsciously (and sometimes knowingly) say and do things to diminish them. This is a vicious cycle that, if awareness of it isn’t raised, creates toxic and destructive cultures which can give rise to aggression and harm. Showing kindness and grace to ourselves, from the understanding that we are only human and will inevitably make mistakes, is the foundation for building and deploying a practice of kindness with others. Giving ourselves the grace & space to be imperfect equips us to give equally to those around us.
Why We Need Kindness Now More Than Ever
There are many reasons why kindness is important. But it’s never been more important than it is today. Violence, negativity, division and anger are everywhere in our society.
I’m not saying they didn’t exist before, but they were mostly siloed, and we didn’t have to see or deal with them on a regular basis (ahem…social media). Now that we live in an age where opinions are overly accessible, the most beneficial action we can take is to normalize radical kindness. Modeling for all who wish to “tune in” how we can remedy the ills of our time through deep caring and empathy for others (and ourselves) will be absolutely mission critical to bringing forth a Kindness Renaissance.
If we want to change the trajectory of our species and our existence on this beautiful planet, we must take small and intentional actions every day; let that person merge in front of you, forgive those who trespass, release the shame you’re carrying, pay for the person’s coffee that’s behind you in line, deploy empathy (it doesn’t mean you have to agree with them), volunteer for causes & organizations doing good work in your community (and bring your kids along with you), and most of all, find that place within you where you’ve been guarding your kindness and open the reservoir to the world.
It’s So Hard…Do It Anyway.
I think the most difficult aspect of kindness/empathy is the task of giving it to those who don’t reciprocate, or we think don’t deserve it. Try to remember a time that you were kind to someone and they either didn’t acknowledge it or were even rude in response…I’m sure the feelings that come up aren’t very positive ones. It’s natural to take offense, feel slighted, or even experience anger as a result of unreciprocated or unacknowledged kindness. And I’ll submit to you for consideration that the people who are the least kind, or disconnected from the kindness of others, are the ones who need it the most. It can be very hard to bring ourselves to be generous and compassionate to callous & uncaring people…we should do it anyway. If for no other reason but to lay our head on the pillow at night and be content with how we showed up for our fellow humans.
In short, though being cognizant of whether our kindness is being taken advantage of is important for protecting our peace, we should be very generous and unrelenting in sharing it with those around us. Giving others the benefit of the doubt and being kind will go a long way towards fostering feelings of joy and contentment, and you just might be amazed at how much is reciprocated back to you.
