What is kindness to you? Are You kind to others? Are You kind to yourself? How does being kind make you feel?
Kindness is defined as the quality to be friendly, generous, and considerate. Affection, gentleness, warmth, concern, and care are all words that describe kindness. Being kind to someone, I believe, regardless of how you may feel you’re being treated takes a lot of courage and strength. Kindness is an interpersonal skill or people skill that is not always easy to demonstrate. Especially when you feel judged, or if someone does not believe, or trust you, or takes someone else’s opinion as the truth.
How does being Kind make you feel?
When you feel connected with others it allows you to flex your kindness “muscle.” You will be amazed to see that being kind makes other people happy but brings an even greater joy to you.
“Carry out a random act of kindness with no expectations of reward, safe in the
knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” -Princess Diana-
Just think of a time that at the right moment someone did an act of kindness for you. I can think of one that just happened the other day while I was at work. A parent came to the door and she handed me a dozen sparkly roses and said, with a lot of emotion in her eyes, “these are just for you. You are amazing and we just want to thank you.” It was so unexpected, but the way it made me feel was, wow how sweet was that, as I got emotional and gave her a big hug. Sometimes people are going through things in life and you have No idea how one act of kindness can change their perspective. Just like that parent did for me. If you knew me, my life has been a little back and forth lately, so for me that just brightened my entire day. The best part, that parent did not even know the struggles I had been going through in my personal life.
I posted a quote on my Instagram page. “Happy Thursday! Be kind to one another. Say a word of encouragement. You never know who may need that more than anything today.” Think about that… by trying to stay positive and respectful of others and I believe sometimes… well… it is how you say things that can completely change the conversation, perspective, or action of someone else from having a not so good day to a great day.
“Because that’s what kindness is, it’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” -Andrew Iskander-
Are you Kind to Yourself?
I am not going to lie…well… this can be a little tricky for me because I am my worst critic. If I know I made a mistake, believe me, I am the first to admit it and I have punished myself already inside for making that mistake. Even if I do not show it. Are you, your worst critic? At the same time this was a hard concept for me, but… you must forgive yourself and realize, “what is that saying…” “Progress over Perfection.” I much rather continue to learn from my mistakes then to believe I need to be perfect. Because who is perfect? Do you really want to be perfect? Those are some high expectations, that I personally do not want in my life, nor need.
Do you have children? Well… I have two. I want my children to know…
“It’s Okay to be grumpy sometimes, to have bad days, to struggle, to make mistakes, to say the wrong things, to feel overwhelmed and under-appreciated, to be out-of-sorts and sort-of-over-it-all. It’s okay for us big humans, and it’s okay for our little humans, too. After all, we’re all human, right? How else will our little humans learn that it’s okay to be human? Remember, we’re imperfect humans growing imperfect humans in an imperfect world, and that’s perfectly okay.” -L.R.Knost-
Imperfectly perfect…hum… sounds much better to me. How about you?
What is the Importance of being Kind to Yourself?
“3 things in human life are important,” I read in an article. The first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind. Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Being kind to yourself in everyday life is in my experience one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Here are some Self-Love Tips:
1. Invest in yourself.
2. Find the truth and exception when an inner critic or outer critic attacks.
3. Destress
4. Take 2 minutes of the day to appreciate yourself.
5. Take a step to be positive.
6. Be kinder towards others.
7. If you stumble, be your own best friend.
8. Take a laugh break.
9. Remember, the future is still in your hands, and it is never too late to change.
10. Simply remind yourself of why it is smart to be kind to yourself.
Well… Thank you for listening to my opinion and thought about kindness. Until next time… Remember, take care of yourself and be kind! 😊
Heart, Leslie
-Center Director of The Learning Experience, Independence
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