Can You Be Nice Without Being Dumb?
Ted Lasso says you sure as hell can be.
“You’re stupid and naive for being too nice to people.”
“No one is going to respect you if you’re so nice all the time. They’re just going to walk all over you.”
“Suppress your joy if you actually want to be taken seriously. Protect your kindness. Be authoritative. Be skeptical. Be ready.”
Do you live by this?
All that armor is exhausting. Holding resentment, and seeing the world as a place that is inherently out to get you is a heavy burden to carry. Being distant and cold and seeing others as potential threats can make you miserable. Especially if you genuinely seek warmth.
Ultimately, being kind isn’t dumb. Suppressing your genuine nature and choosing to see the worst in everyone is. And that kind of dumb comes at a very high price for your own mental wellbeing. There is no compensation prize at the bottom of the box for suffering. There also isn’t a compensation prize for people-pleasing. So what do I mean by being nice then?
Ted Lasso made it to our television screens in the summer of 2020. Ted (played by Jason Sudeikis), is a Midwestern college soccer coach, with limited knowledge of the sport. Still, somehow, he gets hired to fly across the…
