Do you know what they are?
Can you be too nice? I heard of a woman who is a hard core believer in the adage “it’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice.” She likes to tell about when she first started to referee children’s basketball games. Her grown son stopped by to watch her officiate one of her first practice games. Afterward he suggested that she be more forceful. “You know, Mom,” he said, “you don’t have to say ‘I’m sorry, dear, but you stepped out of bounds.’”
I think that U.S. industrialist Charles M. Schwab may have gotten it right. At age 72, Schwab was sued for a large sum of money. Many high-profile personalities would have settled out of court, but Schwab went through with it and eventually won the suit. Before he left the witness stand, he asked permission of the court to make a statement of a personal nature. This is what he said:
“I am an old man, and I want to say that ninety percent of my troubles have been due to my being good to other people. If you younger folk want to avoid trouble, be hard-boiled and say no to everybody. You will then walk through life unmolested, but…” and here a broad smile lit up his face, “you will have to do without friends, and you won’t have much fun.”
Maybe that’s why author Henry James said, “Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.”
What if today you gave yourself permission to be outrageously kind? What if you extended as much good will and kindness as you can possibly muster to every person you meet? And what if you did it with no thought of reward? I’m sure of one thing: it will be a day you will never regret.
– Steve Goodier, as seen in Life Support System and passed on by Cup O’ Cheer