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Becoming a better person, Creating a better society., Creating new habits, Kindness and empathy, Kindness thoughts, Organizing thoughts on kindness
Humanity’s greatest ability is to think and consider alternate outcomes for present problems and future opportunities.
When listening to a person speak, make an attempt to hear not only the words and their meaning, but feel their emotions, and recall their root stimulus.
Kind acts create and stimulate empathy and love. People want to be near others who are kind to them, because it indicates love and concern for their mutual well-being.
We can begin and end every day and every encounter with the thought, “This is my world; this is where I belong, and this is where I want to be.”
I make an impact on the world with every action I do, and the world has an impact on me.
Empathy consists of paying attention to another person and mentally mimicking their actions in every detail.
People in the grip of a strong emotion are unable to hear or empathize, so when some of the people present are having strong emotions, if we want to understand them and communicate with them, we must go to their place first and then drift toward a more congenial place.
Listen carefully to other people’s judgments of things, and of you, to understand their motivations. Write these things down, because it is nearly impossible to remember criticism accurately.
It appears that kindness and compassion are wired into the human genome, like the ability to learn a language, and most people develop these inherent abilities as they grow up. Our genetic code has been buffed by our ancestors to include our ability to feel and manifest kindness towards others.
Our whole life is made up of moments of solving present problems by the application of our current automatic habits, but occasionally we have a moment of consciousness, when things are a little different. Then is the time to try something new, in hope that it might be a better solution. Those moments of potential change are when we notice the cues that bring on our specific habitual sequence of actions.
I have no enemies, only people with whom I haven’t had sufficient communication to be knowledgeable enough of their goals to be seeking a common goal with them.
Show appreciation by praising completed work and by noticing other people’s progress towards their goals. This avoids their natural inclination to dismiss open praise as your manipulating them for your own ends. We can satisfy our personal goals by praising their accomplishments which are aligned with their goals. An example of this is politicians praising a child’s actions in the presence of its mother rather than praising the mother for raising a fine child. It might be self-serving, but in doing the action it is also helping the mother and child.
People approach problems from the point of their present consciousness, and that means from their present greed for acquisition and protection of their possessions.
Educators are fond of saying they are trying to teach their students to think, but unfortunately the students are tested for rote-learned materials. Most people don’t realize that thinking means exploring things that are unknown to the searcher, and therefore they must be willing to fail frequently in the pursuit of that ability. Teaching therefore should include lots of tolerance for ambitious failures and encouragement after the failures. That isn’t going to be tested with an SAT, but it will be the route to real success in life.
At the heart of capitalism is every person feeling they are benefiting from the transaction. All parties to the transaction have benefited.
When you understand the other person’s point of view and their needs and they understand yours, it becomes more probable that you can find mutually beneficial transactions, and both of you will be better off.
If we are to reach all humanity we must speak to individuals in ways that will appeal to their heart-felt needs.
We can create contentment within ourselves, our friends and all humanity by facing our needs directly, feeling them accurately and responding to them appropriately.
“Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.” – George Sand
Cultivate the habit of observing another person’s need, and giving that which will help with that need. Give your best and give it instantly, as only a cultivated habit can allow, and let the gift go as it will, without gloat or regret as to how it is accepted or used.
“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.” – Oscar Wilde
Perhaps, teaching the ability for kindness is the most dangerous idea ever offered, for if it catches on it will be like a wildfire that will consume the world of distrust and grow one of love.
“The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity.” – George Bernard Shaw
Giving a tiny gift to a person acknowledges their existence. That simple act brings both the giver and the receiver into closer bondage with all humanity.