Image by: Marco Giumelli
By Dave Andrews

I believe kindness is not something anyone should practice if they also expect to get it back in return, to win admiration, or to prove something to others. It’s just something that you do sincerely, from the bottom of your heart.

Like when you get scared or jumpy, your reaction is raw and pure. The same thing happens when you’re being kind. You don’t get to think, you just do it, even if it’s not rational or reasonable anymore. It comes out naturally because it’s in our very nature as human beings and I guess we all just have to remind ourselves that every single time.

I understand that it’s difficult to choose kindness especially when you’re living in a world populated by people who are full of themselves. But I think that is exactly what we need to do in order to save our planet from all kinds of evil, from war, poverty, hunger and crime; if we all make an effort to nurture more love in our hearts, this world, without any doubt, would become a better place to live in.

Here are some good reasons to practice, cultivate and bring kindness into your life.

It Adds Meaning to Your Life

I remember my classmate Benjie during our high school prom. He was a varsity player, good-looking and really popular in our school and because of that all the girls had a crush on him. However, there was this one girl who used to be the laughing stock of other students because she was kind of nerdy and weird.

Just imagine everyone’s reaction when Benjie decided to approach that girl and ask her to be his first dance. Other dudes thought it was a joke or that he was trying to be funny and the faces on all the girls were priceless, perhaps in envy, but for me, I thought it was cool and classy. Despite all the teasing, murmuring and judgmental eyes, Benjie seemed to be so sure of what he was doing and the girl, though in shock, looked extremely happy.

Gestures of kindness, no matter how small, can make great impacts in this world. It gives you a unique power to connect with other people around you and make a big difference.

Let’s take Joanne Cacciatore’s story, for example. She made her life more meaningful by turning her grief into kindness and used the power of giving to help other grieving parents like her move forward.

It only proves that kindness has the power to give purpose to your experiences and to even turn your worst days into something meaningful and life-changing.

It Helps Inspire Others

Kindness also plays an important role in the success and failure of your career or business. If you’re the type of leader who dominates his employees through micromanagement, makes people feel bad when they make simple mistakes, doesn’t know how to appreciate anything or anyone, doesn’t provide a fair working environment for your employees and make selfish decisions, then you’re business and reputation are in danger.

So, commit to becoming a better leader. Inspire hard work and dedication by setting a good example for your people, using positive reinforcement to boost their confidence and morale, making an effort to get to know them personally, providing conducive working conditions and being open to suggestions and options.

It Heals You

I understand that it’s hard to be nice especially when you are dealing with rude, unsupportive and jealous people. But I don’t think that you can improve your situation by trying to be horrible to them too. I’m sure it will only make things worse.

According to writer Sarah Jacoby, these beautiful things will happen when you adopt kindness as your lifestyle:

• You will eradicate a significant amount of stress form your life.
• You will feel better and happier about yourself.
• Your heart health and blood pressure will improve.

So, instead of stressing yourself out thinking about how you can get back at those people who are treating you bad, take it as an opportunity to prove that you are a better person by inspiring understanding and patience, and helping them find goodness in their hearts.

It Empowers You to Make a Positive Difference in Your Day

One of the harshest truths I’ve learned about life is that there’s no guarantee that when you do good to others, others will also do good to you. But that’s okay because kindness is supposed to be given for free. And though you can’t expect good things from others, the mere act of kindness itself is guaranteed to give you an emotional uplifting feeling of joy and peace of mind.

And to help you manifest kindness and set your mind up to have a good relationship with yourself and with others, check this out – “How to Set a One-Word Intention for the New Year.”

I started doing this a couple of days ago. But instead of setting one-word intention for the whole year, I use it to set my mood for the day. After expressing my gratitude and appreciation for life in the morning, I think of a word that would inspire my whole day and write it on my board. Last weekend, I remember using “motivation” and it drove me to finish my whole workout routine. The other day, I chose the word “pure” and it kind of prompted me to drink a lot of water and do general cleaning in my house.

As the ancient wisdom goes, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.” So, perhaps you can use the power of intention to cultivate kindness and lead positive change within yourself.