During a scene of one of my favourite films, Wonder, a school teacher, Mr Browne, shares a quote by Dr Wayne W. Dyer with his class. He says ‘when given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind’. I am one of those people who watches a film and, after a week, forgets most of the content; however, there was something about this quote that has stuck with me.
You don’t have to look far to see how unkind this world can be. Here in Australia, there is this cultural phenomenon we know as ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’ (TPS). Simply put, TPS is the act of discrediting or cutting someone down who, you feel, is achieving more than you. On occasion, I suffer from TPS and I hate it. I believe that TPS coincides with personal insecurity and reveals more about the one pulling down than the one being pulled down.
A few years ago, I came to terms with the fact that I could be cynical, judgemental and unkind to others who were putting themselves out there and doing better than I was. I hated this quality and wanted to do something about it.
The first step was admitting this about myself, alongside a conscious decision to change.
Change requires ‘choosing kind’ regardless of whether you are right or not. While my initial thought process may often err on the side of judgemental, indignant or critical thinking, the issue arises only when we choose to act out negatively on these thoughts towards others. Before this step, I have 100% control over the choice of actions towards a situation.
‘Choosing kind’ is making the conscious choice to not let our words and actions be negative, but rather, choosing to speak encouragement and positivity to a person or a situation.
Dale Carnegie in his book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ sums it up perfectly. ‘Instead of condemning people’ he says, ‘let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness.’
I challenge you today to make an effort and ‘choose kind’. I honestly believe it can make the world a better place.
If you have any feedback or questions feel free to leave a comment or message me directly in the ‘contact me’ link.
Thanks for reading.
