The biggest thing to remember about grace and kindness is to practice them everywhere and all of the time.
If you’re at Starbucks, ask the barista how her day is going and smile when you place your order. When you’re at the grocery store, ask the person helping you how their day is going and say thank you. If a client seems stressed out, ask if you can do anything to make their life easier. If your spouse had a horrible day at work, do something thoughtful for them.
Grace and kindness are also relevant to how you treat yourself. If you’re having a bad day, instead of flying off the handle, breathe. If you missed your workout, don’t beat yourself up.
Having grace and kindness doesn’t cost money. It doesn’t even take a great deal of time. And, it really boils down to sprinkling in words, gestures, and actions that could have a massive positive impact on another person. These things may not seem like a big deal to you, but they can most definitely transform someone’s day and state of mind.
So, in the weeks ahead, make it a point to ask yourself, “What can I do or say in this situation to leave a lasting positive impact on this person?” And then do it.
I will leave you with this quote by Maya Angelou. It’s a powerful one and very true:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Life is good.
Jeff
