Two simple words – Be Kind.
“I appreciate the compliment,” I said, brushing it off, “but I really can’t take credit. The stuff you’re talking about happened at a grassroots level among the volunteers and had little to do with me.”
“Stop,” she said, interrupting me right back. “You need to listen to me. This organization has been transformed since you’ve been in leadership. You need to take some credit for that.”
I wasn’t prepared to hear her the first time she said it. I was having a bad day (well, a bad week, really… maybe even a bad month) and was fairly sure that almost everything I’d done in the past 5 years that might look like success was probably a complete fluke and that there had been more failure since I’d been at the helm than honest-to-goodness accomplishments.
Just the day before, this same board member had sent me an email when I’d responded to her request for a powerpoint presentation I’d created. The email had few words, but the ones I remember were “YOU’RE AMAZING!”
When she stopped me in the middle of the conversation where I’d tried to pass off any credit I didn’t think I deserved, I took note. Maybe there was something in what she was saying.
The rest of the day, my footsteps around the office hallways took on an extra little bounce. Someone believed in me. Someone thought I was amazing.
A little later that same day, I got a simple voicemail from one of my employees. “You don’t have to return this call, but I just thought you should hear that you’re doing a good job. Keep it up.”
Really? I’m doing a good job? Ha! Who knew? I grinned. The bounce turned to a little dance.
When I was growing up, there were two simple words that came out of my dad’s mouth almost every time we left home. “Be kind.” Simple as that. No big speech about how we should live out our dreams, stand up for the oppressed, or be important in the world. Just “Be Kind.” In his mind, we were living successful lives if we were offering some kindness to people along the way.
The day those two people offered me simple kindness in their encouraging words marked a noticeable shift for me. My faith in myself grew, my commitment to my job grew, and, more than anything, my ability to perform up to the standards they believed I was capable of grew. Even better? I paid it forward by being kind to the next person I met, and the next, and the next…
It’s such a simple concept, this kindness thing, but it can have a transformative affect. It can change someone’s outlook on life. It can shift the path they’re on. It can spread like wildfire when they pay it forward.
Be kind. Be an encourager. Be a supporter. Offer the compliment someone needs to hear to help them get past a bout of self-doubt. Give someone ten minutes of your time just to listen to their stories. Value each person you speak to today. Leave a voice mail. Buy cookies. Take someone out for lunch. Drop a coin in a busker’s hat. Give someone the grocery cart for free instead of expecting the dollar it cost you to unlock it. Pay for the coffee of the person standing behind you in line. Tell your boss she’s doing a good job. (News flash – managers need encouragement too!) Send a thank you card. Put a love note in your husband’s brief case. Leave a friendly comment on a blog. Leave an extra tip for your hairdresser. Help someone carry a heavy load.
A few months ago, my friend Jo-Anne told me that after the planes struck the towers on that fateful day in September, she’d been struggling with how she could respond. In reaction to the evil that she saw, she decided that the only wise response would be to start a kindness revolution. Starting with extending simple kindness to whomever she met, she believes that kindness has the potential to spread and heal and hopefully transform the hurts that cause anger, violence and evil. (I can testify that it’s working at least a little bit, as I’ve been the recipient of her kindness more than once.)
On this, the anniversary of 9-11, let’s start a kindness revolution. It’s simple. Just be kind. It will change you. It will change the world.
Hi, I'm Heather Plett. I'm excited that you've stopped by to learn more about how we can make the world a better place through the sharing of our gifts and creativity. I've been thinking about these topics for a lot of years now. Through my work in creative communication, workshop facilitation, fundraising, leadership training, and freelance writing, I've gathered a lot of wisdom and stories from my own experiences and the experiences of the people I've been blessed with knowing.
I really needed this today. I had a horrible day yesterday! My CEO was NOT kid to me….I don’t think that he did it on purpose but I’m in back pain and it just hit me the wrong way and i went to my office and burst into tears and began to clear off m desk and decided that I didn’t work anymore. My DON knocked on my door and found me in that state and cleared thins up for me but this is exactly what I trying to express…the things that he says to me in an effort to be “funny” are unkind and hurt my feelings! I try to be kind to everyong and want my staff to be kind to everyone. Yes, I am known as one with the sense of humor but it is not ever at anyone;s expense! and my CEO’s sense of humor is mean! I’m probably a blubbering idiot right now…still struggling with the idea that I’m upset with him and may quit my career because of his attitude toward me. Anyway, I”m going to use this in my office…Thanks
I love this post – small things really make a difference – even hearing about them.
This morning I was walking with a friend and we happened to segue to discussing her husband’s little vintage MG. She was talking about what a happy car it is – how people stop and want to have conversations about it. A young man canvassing the neighborhood recently for NYPIRG or some organization, and recently returned home from Iraq, was eyeing the car in the driveway and exclaiming what a neat car it was. Her husband offered to take him for a ride and he was thrilled. He said it was the best thing that had happened to him in a while. It was a very small thing. It’s not something that would mean a lot to many of us. But it was a kindness that Warren offered on the spot. And I felt better hearing it. I’ve thought about it occasionally this morning. Makes me smile.
Two simple words that are worth more than anything you can buy. Be kind. It’s so true…it makes a tremendous difference in the world. The compliment or the kindness you do for someone else may be the difference in that person’s day. Just as it happens when someone is kind to us, it should be simple to realize that another person will feel the same way. And just as important is being able to accept that compliment or kindness with another two simple words – “thank you”. A lovely post today Heather. Truly love.