How to Start a Kindness Movement | By Guy Farmer
I used to design and facilitate workshops to help leaders build kind workplaces and I'd often encounter puzzled looks and comments such as: "You can't be kind and get results," or "If you're kind people will take advantage of you," and even "Kindness is weakness." These types of perspectives made me sad but I understood where they came from. So many people come from backgrounds where kindness was scarce, absent, or where they never heard a gentle word of encouragement or experienced a loving smile. These same people go out into the workforce and treat each other as they were treated when they were growing up.
I've also worked with many individuals and families in distress and, almost to a person, they would tell me stories about how they were never loved, were treated with brutality, or simply ignored. They didn't know what it was like to have someone love them for who they are and treat them with kindness and care. Many people told me that they were actively taught to hate or mistrust by people they were forced to look up to.
Because so much of the world has been raised in environments where kindness is not the norm, it makes it challenging to introduce the concept of a kindness movement because all they've ever known is fear, anger, or sadness. So how do we change this pervasive pattern? It starts with you. You get to live your life in a way that sets the tone for everyone else. If you are kind, the people around you are much more likely to do the same. If you stand up for peace, love, and compassion, others will gradually join you.
What I've found in working with people at many levels is that they want kindness and love in their lives but don't know how to invite it in. That's why your example is so important. It's up to you to think and act kindly to help start moving the culture from punitive to supportive, from selfish to sharing, from scared to courageous. It can be done, it just requires that enough people consciously behave with kindness to show everyone else that it is possible.
How do you start a kindness movement? Start with being kind to yourself, then be kind to others, and then advocate for things that promote kindness in the world. Remember that you're not alone, there are plenty of us who also believe in kindness and support your efforts.
Cheers,
Guy
I've also worked with many individuals and families in distress and, almost to a person, they would tell me stories about how they were never loved, were treated with brutality, or simply ignored. They didn't know what it was like to have someone love them for who they are and treat them with kindness and care. Many people told me that they were actively taught to hate or mistrust by people they were forced to look up to.
Because so much of the world has been raised in environments where kindness is not the norm, it makes it challenging to introduce the concept of a kindness movement because all they've ever known is fear, anger, or sadness. So how do we change this pervasive pattern? It starts with you. You get to live your life in a way that sets the tone for everyone else. If you are kind, the people around you are much more likely to do the same. If you stand up for peace, love, and compassion, others will gradually join you.
What I've found in working with people at many levels is that they want kindness and love in their lives but don't know how to invite it in. That's why your example is so important. It's up to you to think and act kindly to help start moving the culture from punitive to supportive, from selfish to sharing, from scared to courageous. It can be done, it just requires that enough people consciously behave with kindness to show everyone else that it is possible.
How do you start a kindness movement? Start with being kind to yourself, then be kind to others, and then advocate for things that promote kindness in the world. Remember that you're not alone, there are plenty of us who also believe in kindness and support your efforts.
Cheers,
Guy
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