By Cleofe Uy Catuday
The faces we see in just a day. The people we interface with throughout our grind. The lives we get to cross as we also try to survive. So many interactions we might not be so mindful of. Unless we are present in the real sense, do we get to internalize the reality of the bountiful and unique stories that each one must share.
If we do a conscious count of the many times our emotions peak, we may get tired of the inventory of unnecessary outbursts and blasts of negative emotions that could have been kept to self if there was more conscious intent to be kind.
Kindness or Delivering Results
In more than two decades of corporate toil, across industries, markets and positions, I have come to gather that when results and the bottomline are top priority, people mostly end up choosing to do the opposite of kindness. Majority of driven and passionate leaders tend to be more aggressive in pushing the envelope. “I have no patience for people who are slow.”, “In my world, this is not acceptable.” “It is just extremely frustrating that some cannot catch up.” All these common lines of frustration are to me justifications.
Justifications of your own personal inability to handle your past experiences and ill-reactions to triggers that get your BP to spike. Don’t get me wrong– I am not claiming to be kind, and neither am I saying that to get the productivity goal, my passion is always on track. I do get derailed and regret a few things a second after they are blurted. But here’s the thing, time, maturity, and life experiences get you to a level of intent to be kind.
The bigger the level of understanding of the unique stories people have to share the more we understand why people act a certain way. Our goals will remain, but we can choose to build each other up and work in synergy with much needed consciousness of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Kindness helps build trust in each other indeed but let us never drop the reality that it is also kindness to deliver your share of the toil in organizations whose successes are hinged on each one’s contributions.
Kindness and Peace of Mind
No argument needed; we all are wired differently. With different childhoods, family backgrounds, different forms of happiness, and sometimes even trauma. All these shapes our current persona. The more monstrous and ruder the ego, the heavier the past or current pain. If we retaliate with ill feelings and the same level of negativity, it is harder for us to see the reason why people act the way they do. It did take me a lifetime to understand, I used to see it as me being challenged, and I have to give the same level of fight. But hey, peace of mind is precious, and kindness is might.
Kindness Across All Seasons
The kindness that innately comes out of us in this season of giving, is the same kindness we need throughout the year. People dress up as decently as they can for the day, to face the world with the strength we all need to have to survive. Behind each one’s well put-up faces and stature are varied seasons of one’s life that we can never tell. Some in the season of bounty and hearts full of love, some in the season of survival and the lack of hope, others in a season of desperation and extreme need of care. As our nature did not include reading through each other’s masks, let us choose to be kind and intentionally be one. Praising Him gladly across all seasons of our lives and trusting that He is not present only during Christmas, but every single day He has blessed us with.
