Yesterday while I was at the grocery store a clerk said something nice to me. And while I was slightly embarrassed, I must admit that it had an effect on me. In fact, I have thought about what he said more than once in the past 24 hours.
This is the power of kindness. When we are nice to someone they remember it…usually for a very long time. Think about your own experience of this. Do you remember the last time someone said or did something nice? How did it affect you? What did you feel?
When we are kind to others we leave little ‘breadcrumbs of warmth’ throughout the world. We help others have a nicer day, and might just change someone’s life. It is so simple, yet so many times we see people do the opposite. It is tempting to return anger with anger, but so much more powerful when we return anger with kindness.
And don’t underestimate the power of kindness in business! When you are kind to colleagues, customers and shareholders you create goodwill…and in my experience this ‘bank of warmth’ pays very large dividends when you find yourself in need.
Try a bit of kindness today! What little thing can you do or say that might make someone’s life a little bit nicer? As you drop these little breadcrumbs you may just find that your world gets a little bit nicer as well…
-KC Hildreth
www.kchildreth.com