I Want To Start a Movement: Courage and Kindness

Sometimes it’s hard to see how these two words go together so well, but they are in fact perfect partners. Let’s unpack how they complement each other on a small scale and a larger one:

I was in the tiny kitchen of my house one morning, and my husband came in. He wanted to cook something at the same time I did. I had two choices: I could have gotten annoyed and told him he was in my way, or I could have been courageous and in a kind tone, asked if we could negotiate. This may seem small, but who wants to start their day annoyed?

Let’s unpack something bigger. Imagine that your boss has a way of telling you what she/he needs at the last minute, with the full expectation that you will make the task at hand your top priority. Again, you have choices: you could get annoyed and complain that you cannot get it done (might be true or not); maybe you complain to a co-worker. Another option would be to have the courage to ask your boss in a kind tone if you can discuss choices. You could share that it would really help you get the work done right if you could have some time to plan it out. You could also ask your boss if he/she would meet with you briefly once a week to discuss the workload or ask what other options would work, given their schedule.

There’s a good chance that your boss did not wake up that morning thinking, “Hmmm…let me see if I can get on someone’s nerves today.” There’s also a good chance that by asking simple questions with courage and kindness, you can build a better, stronger, and more positive relationship with your boss that leads to mutual respect.

What if we looked at the relationships in our lives as a series of opportunities, big and small, to act with courage and kindness? Is it possible that we’d see more positive outcomes? Let’s give the courage and kindness partnership a try.