Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.
— Lao Tsu
How kind are you? Are you … kind of kind? Naturally kind? Intentionally kind? Or … well, unkind?
It is very simple really. When we are unkind it is because we fall a victim to our circumstances. We blame people or events for our results and take out our frustration on those around us. Being unkind to others, in turn, makes us slaves to that unkindness. We harbor ill emotion and frustration. That leads to reduced performance and poor results.
When, despite the plentiful evidence of others failing, we choose to be kind to them, we claim back our freedom. We are free from judgement towards them. Free from frustration. Free from draining our energy into an empty vortex of “who’s right and who’s wrong.” Choosing kindness over choosing to be right leads to inner freedom. Inner freedom leads to inner joy and peace. Inner joy and peace lead to a continued improvement in performance and results.
Be kind … to be the kind of person that you want to be. Be kind … to have the kind of success you want to have.
  1. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself another chance. You got this. What is the mess up, a failure, or a delayed decision that you are procrastinating to tackle? Choose to be kind to yourself. Tell yourself that regardless of the results of your efforts, you will forgive yourself. Often, we are stuck, because our subconscious mind, with its sole purpose being our safety, deems it unsafe for us to start on a project because we are so unkind to ourselves that it is dangerous and unsafe to proceed. Choose to be kind to yourself. Continued kindness helps to overcome procrastination.
  2. Be kind to someone who loves you. Very often, those that are closest to us get to see our most unkind side. We let our daily guard down and allow the non-dealt-with stress and the frustration come out at them.
  3. Be kind to someone who bothers you. Realize that each person’s level of awareness is different. Most are doing their very best. Their highest best can come in as your lowest worst. Accept it with kindness. Do something unexpected for them. Be kind to be kind, not to manipulate them, not to get the results you want from them, just to be kind … to be free of their hold of frustration on you.

Decide on one simple act of kindness in each of the above categories daily and notice how your world will change simply because you will change.