Fred Rogers has been quoted as saying, “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” I think that kindness refers to both being kind to ourselves and kind to others.
Whether at work or at home, we often forget to be kind. We get so enmeshed in what has to get done and the pressure of deadlines that we forget to be kind. This is especially true when someone pushes your buttons. The funny thing is that sometimes we are the ones who push our own buttons. We have such high expectations and judgments about how we “should” be and do that we stop ourselves before we can fail.
The challenge is to shift from seeing “failure” as a personal indictment to one of curiosity about what you could do differently the next time. Kindness is key. What if today you used that as your mantra, “How can I be kind today?” Be sure to include yourself in that kindness.
So, here’s complete transparency about kindness and me. I have been stuck about writing this article for two weeks – couldn’t figure out a topic and have at least seven starts that just didn’t seem to be good enough. Then I saw this article that I had started several years ago (yes, years ago!) and decided that it fit perfectly. So, short and sweet today, how can you be kind to yourself?
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