The People, Process, & Progress Podcast - Sharing the Power of Kindness from my 10 Year Old Son | PPP #90

Episode Date: October 12, 2021

Sharing a writing from my 10 year old on how we, adults and kids, can be kind, how being kind is hard and why it's a good thing to be kind to others.

Please silence your cell phones, hold all sidebar conversations to a minimum, and we will get started with People Process Progress in 3, 2, 1. Welcome to People Process Progress, episode 90, out of the mouth of babes, be kind. And while the message I'm going to share is not quite from a babe, it's from my 10-year-old, one of my sons, who just wrote a great piece that reflects his beautiful heart. And I just wanted to share it, right? We're in divisive times on the news constantly. It's this party's doing that, that party's doing this. Vactors, anti-vaxxers, mandates, mass, no mass, just and thought, you know what? I think it's good to just put messages out in the world

that are nice and from the heart. And quite frankly, I was it's good to just put messages out in the world that are nice and from the heart. And quite frankly, I was very proud of him. I was proud of my wife and I, of the message that he has and those around him, right? Other family and friends as teachers, I'm sure that have influenced them. And I hope we're all able to do that with the children we're going to put in this world and help raise them, that they're not influenced negatively by all this divisiveness, that they're going to be kind. And I thought I'd share a window into his thoughts that certainly work for adults. And I think these are three things, as he mentions, how you can be kind, being kind is hard, and why it's a good thing to be kind. How you can be kind. You should be kind because it can

make others feel good, and it can make you feel good too. You should also be kind because it can make others feel good, and it can make you feel good too. You should also be kind because it's also just a good thing to do. It can help you make friends, it can help you get more school name likes, and it can make people around you be kind. Being kind can make others want to be kind because when they see you are kind and get good things out of it, they'll want to be kind too. And it can actually get you better grades because scientifically, being kind can make you happy and being happy can make you work harder. I think being happy does make us all work harder. This is me talking now. I don't know how scientific it is, but they do say, and I've heard that smiling takes less muscles in the face than frowning.

So maybe he's on to something here. Add to that kindness. We can go a long way. His second point is being kind is hard. Sometimes being kind can be hard or embarrassing because if you help someone that gets bullied a lot, people might laugh at you and call you names, but who cares if they call you names and laugh at you? Just ignore them and focus on helping that person. And being called names and being laughed at doesn't hurt you, does it? No, it doesn't. Now, if they push you around, that's not acceptable at all. To solve that problem, you have to firmly say, leave me alone and don't do it again.

And you have to really say it, not whisper it. Back to me again. Both my youngest boys take Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and in that class and me at home and my wife have told them, you know, try and walk away. Don't deal with, you know, people if there's no conflict and then if not, let them go. And it's great to see that reflected and that he remembers it and that he believes in that principle. Why it's a good thing to be kind, our third section. Being kind can also help you to do things you probably didn't want to do before. Like it helps you get over your fears.

You might not be able to get over them, but it might make you feel better about yourself. For example, if you're scared of talking to a big crowd, then try being kind to yourself by telling yourself you can do it. If you just can't get yourself to tell yourself that, then just take a deep breath and start talking because it'll be over soon. And being kind isn't just saying hi or helping someone. It can mean you make someone laugh, not in an evil way, or fill them with joy or playing with someone who's alone and has no one to play with. So remember everyone, we can be kind. It makes us happy. It makes others happy. Yes, being kind is hard, as my son points out, because some folks don't like it when we're kind

to others, but it's the right thing to do. And we can be kind to ourselves. It gives our self-confidence. We can be kind to ourselves by exercising, by taking a walk, by getting enough sleep, by talking to others, that self-care that we need as we're on conferences or starting to go back to work or all the different things that are happening. So I thank you.

I hope you all are being kind. I hope others are being kind to you. Thank you for being kind to me on the show by listening, by reading the blog, by connecting on social media. Remember, the website is peopleprocessprogress.com, peopleprocessprogress on Instagram and Facebook. Feel free to reach out. I am Kevin Pinnell on LinkedIn. I am happy to host the show and share thoughts with you and look forward to some upcoming guests and other topics. Please stay safe out there. Wash your hands and Godspeed.