Excerpt: Instead of doing arbitrary random acts of kindness, do deliberate deeds of recalibration when wronged to help “recalibrate” the world.
“some people
are so bitter
to them
you must be kindest”
Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey (Page 190)
“Set the tone for your day by treating people better than you expect to be treated by them. Be the first to smile. Express your appreciation for them. Expect the best out of them. If you act first, you will set yourself up for success.”
John C. Maxwell, Today Matters
One thing is for sure, the opposite certainly won’t set you up for success. You can treat people worse than you expect them to treat you. You can wait to smile until they smile at you. You can withhold any appreciation you might have towards others and express gratitude only when it would be rude not to. You can expect the worst out of them. The thing is, though, if you wait to act, you will be outsourcing part of your success onto them—to people and circumstances out of your control. And is success even possible if it’s out of your control?
Read More »John C. Maxwell Quote on Setting Yourself Up For Success“Do not try to fix whatever comes into your life. Fix yourself in such a way that whatever comes, you will be fine.”
Sadhguru
The following story was submitted by Angel via the Share Your Story page on our website. In it, she discusses how she managed to break away and move forward from limiting beliefs that were imposed on her throughout her life that were a source of much stress and anxiety. Now, as you’ll read about below, she lives a more accepting and grateful life. And it all started from a simple recommendation that came from some of her best friends. Here’s Angel to explain:
Read More »Sadhguru Quote on Not Fixing Everything Else, But On Fixing Yourself To Better Deal With Everything Else.“I firmly believe in small gestures: pay for their coffee, hold the door for strangers, over tip, smile or try to be kind even when you don’t feel like it, pay compliments, chase the kid’s runaway ball down the sidewalk and throw it back to him, try to be larger than you are— particularly when it’s difficult. People do notice, people appreciate. I appreciate it when it’s done to (for) me. Small gestures can be an effort, or actually go against our grain (“I’m not a big one for paying compliments…”), but the irony is that almost every time you make them, you feel better about yourself. For a moment life suddenly feels lighter, a bit more Gene Kelly dancing in the rain.”
Jonathan Carroll
Don’t let ideas of the grandiose stop you from acting in thoughtful, kind ways today. Don’t let your desire to change the whole world (or have a huge impact) stop you from doing anything at all for those who are already in your world. Brainstorming and coming up with master plans is great, but it should never be at the expense of those who surround you throughout your brainstorming process. Never underestimate the power of small gestures done in selfless, loving ways, for those gestures may prove to be the very foundation for so much else in your life.
Read More »Jonathan Carroll Quote on Kindness in Small Gestures“Kindness is not a currency, and if you treat it like one, then that is not kindness.” ~ Iain Thomas, Every Word You Cannot Say (Page 131)
“Compliment others more. You’ll barely remember you did it, but the other person may never forget that you did. Kindness has unlimited upside.” ~ James Clear, Blog
“When we’re in any kind of pain, we can use it to open our hearts to the reality that people are always suffering. Pain is something everyone experiences. We can use it to ground us in the fundamental truth of our being. Pain gives us firsthand experience by which to be kind and generous to others. It gives us direct access through our empathy to helping others. We can use pain to activate compassion. We’d like others not to experience pain, and we can extend ourselves to them. We can contemplate the words, ‘May all beings be free of pain.’ Our direct experience of pain only makes our wish more potent. It may even decrease our pain, because it increases our joy. This becomes a wonderful meditation, to sit there and contemplate the relief of pain and suffering of everyone, of the whole world—not only because it changes our attitude toward our own pain, but also because it’s opening our mind of enlightenment. This kind of prayer is always healing.” ~ Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 144)
“How to be happy? Here was a start. Accept whatever kindnesses people offer you, and repay with what you can. Let a friend buy you lunch, then do her a solid in return. You’ll benefit from the favors you receive, but even more from the ones you perform. Don’t begrudge the people who need you; thank them for letting you help them. Give up the obsession with self-reliance; it’s a myth, anyway. None of these comes naturally to me, and even as I write them now, they seem too pat. But in Helen and Howie I saw them in action, again and again, and here is what I saw: they worked. They weren’t genius; they were wisdom.” ~ John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 62)
