Being Kind

Today I am sharing my column that will be published next month.  

Inventing Your Life

“Being Kind”

By

Rob Claudio

I ran across a good article recently that spoke about seven personality traits of a great leader.  They were all very good and in a future column, I will dedicate some time to talking about some of those leadership attributes.  However, I wanted to concentrate on one particular trait that spoke to being kind.  First, I must begin by saying that I find kindness to not be a sign of weakness, as it shows great strength in approaching things from an intentionally good perspective.  I find that not being kind can be an easy way out for some, as it highlights a lack of engagement in others along with demonstrating some less than admirable qualities.  If you were to think about the images that come to mind when focusing on a kind person that you know, more than likely the images that you would conjure up would be those of a happy nature.  When I think of someone who is kind, I usually immediately smile as it changes my sense of being almost instantly.  There have been some great leaders in all walks of life that have exhibited kindness, who were among the most impactful and influential people in the world.  There have been people that changed the course of history by how they led and were able to impart their vision on others, via their kind actions and words.  In the world of sports, you also have some great coaches that have shown that kindness can be an attribute of a winning Super Bowl team or the head of the number one collegiate basketball program in the nation multiple years in a row.  The great John Wooden and Tony Dungy come to mind as great coaches, however, there are many other shining examples out there.  What I have found during the course of my lifetime is that you do not want to treat others differently than you would like to be treated, which goes back to the ultimate golden rule.  We should be treating people with honesty and respect, while expecting the same from others.  What I have also noticed is the change of this in our own society, as you see television and film depicting protagonists who show very little of this quality and yet are elevated to superstar status.  When I was flipping through television channels recently, I saw a lot of reality television programs that highlighted constant fighting and considerable amounts of disrespect directed towards their peers. Personally I think we need to aspire to higher standards among ourselves and what we demand from the media, however, that too is a topic for a different day.  I believe that we should strive to be kind on a constant basis, as we are the living examples of our future generations of folks that will either learn from our good traits or expand on those that are not.  Remember that kindness is its own unique strength and can be the foundation for how you live a more purposeful life existence.  When we are no longer existing in the present life, hopefully in the much distant future, I bet that everyone would want to be remembered for many good and admirable qualities that they left behind.  As the authors of our own life we are the ones who determine what our legacy will be and whether we choose kindness to be written at the top of that list.               

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it”.

-Winston Churchill