I’ve talked before about how kindness can be a leadership attribute, and how it can be a spiritual practice, and even how it is spreads out through the ripple effect – maybe the butterfly effect?
But did you know that kindness is also self-care? I met with one of my favorite clients last week and we were talking about just that.
Maybe you don’t see the connection right away, so let me explain my reasoning.
When we are kind, we get to be who we truly are. No pretenses, no artifice. We get to be in alignment with our higher self. I mean, come on, isn’t that pretty cool? Oh, want more? Okay.
It feels incredibly good to be kind. There’s a reason for that – kindness generates oxytocin – the love hormone. Even thinking about kindness generates oxytocin, which is the opposite of stress. So kindness is stress relief – and we KNOW that’s self care. When we are kind, we care and we demonstrate that we care. Give it a test. Go perform a random act of kindness and see how you feel. Amazing, right?
Still not 100% convinced? It’s affirming for our sense of self. We like knowing that we are good people, and acts of kindness are evidence that we are good, thoughtful and generous people. Gathering evidence that we are who we want to be is extremely powerful self-care mojo.
I realize that right now there’s a lot going on in the world that might lead us to think that self-care is not very important in the scheme of things, and that the whole world isn’t necessarily full of kind people. But that is precisely when we need to recognize that kindness is self-care – it’s self-care for our community, our world.
When we are kind we get to be who we truly are. Loving kindness – rose quartz pink. That’s us! So take care of yourself and be kind.
In the meantime, remember these things: You are loved. We are all loved. Let’s all be kind. And in all things – progress, not perfection!
Love and light,
Maggie
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Are you interested in being the leader you are meant to be? Send me an email and we can set up a time to talk: maggie@maggiehuffman.com
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