Some people, I’ll tell ya…
They’re rude, crude, ignorant, and, believe it or not, they want to drag you down with them.
Negativity and just plain meanness seem to feed off of themselves and it becomes a vicious cycle of people being shi**y to each other.
But no more of that, friends! Because we’re gonna get some good life advice today.
Why do you choose to be kind to people even when you don’t get it back?
People shared their thoughts on AskReddit.
1. Words to live by.
“”We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
I believe in this quote a lot and try to live by it. Giving kindness is free and maybe, in some situations it may costs more effort.
But at the end of the day, I just want them to be happy. That is reward enough for me.”
2. You never know.
“You never know what someone is going through, even the happiest of people can be struggling internally.
I struggle with low self esteem and suicidal thoughts, I never want someone else to feel how low I feel on a daily basis.
Being kind can literally be life saving.”
3. Feels good.
“It makes me a happier person to be kind. It feels bad when I’m not.
The anxiety of having been sh**ty to someone far outweighs the feeling you get when someone doesn’t return your kindness.”
4. Do what you can.
“It isn’t a conscious choice, it is the way that I am. Even when I am at my worst (feeling really down) I put on a smile.
Having had some bad times that I wouldn’t wish on anyone else I just do what little I can.
Yesterday I complimented a woman on her bright pink hair and we had a short but sweet conversation about it.”
5. Short and sweet.
“The golden rule.
Treat others how you want to be treated.”
6. That’s right.
“You catch more flies with honey. Not saying your motivation to be nice should be to get things out of people, but more opportunities present themselves when you’re likeable and people want to be around you.
You sleep well and have diverse social groups to interact with. And being nice does not mean to let people take advantage of you. Clearly communicate your boundaries and have the other person confirm that they’ve heard and understand you.”
7. Ideals.
“Having ideals means you stick to them no matter what. You have no expectation of getting anything in return.
Trying to be a good person is done solely because it’s the right thing to do. Not because you think people will like you better or you’ll be rewarded.
Even though being a good person has burned me so many times, I refuse to let it break my ideals.”
8. It’s powerful.
“Being kind is so much more powerful, if subtle, than unkindness.
It costs me nothing but a bit of mental gymnastics and for a few moments life isn’t terrible.”
9. Exactly.
“You can’t control what you can’t control.
Live your own life and try to set an example.”
10. Responsibility.
“We are all responsible for what we bring to this world, be it h**e, anger, joy, acceptance.
I like thinking that I can bring a bit of happiness into the lives of others.”
11. A nice story.
“Let me tell you a story.
Some years ago I was working as a barista at a small coffee shop that only had one person there at a time. If the boredom didn’t get to you the isolation would a little.
I was working a morning shift that day and I had gotten little sleep the night before so it put me in a rather bad mood. Coffee can only substitute sleep so well.
Now I had been serving customers their drinks that morning and Ive always disliked the people that asked for really complicated elaborate things. A lady comes up asking for one such thing. And it was a situation where she wanted more of something that would result in less drink in her cup. According to my bosses, we were not supposed to humor those people and legit fill the cup near halfway as a result of the customers request. (This is actually kind of absurd, because anyone who works behind the counter knows their is enough product left over in the mixing cup to fill the guests cup, but we are supposed to dump it).
So I did as I was supposed to, being in the mood I was and knowing it’s what my bosses would have wanted I thought “nah f**k this lady” and just filled her cup up halfway.
When she received it and asked why it was half full I told her that’s what we’re supposed to do. She responded pleasantly and thanked me for the drink. And handed over an origami elephant that she had been making while waiting for her drink.
I think I had not felt so bad as I did in that moment in a long time. She was so nice to me when I had actually been rather mean spirited towards her.
I kept the origami elephant on my counter for the rest of the two years I worked there as a reminder to give my best to people. Even if it’s not much, just remember to give that little bit extra.
I have heard the saying before ‘you can choose to either be the light, or the mirror that reflects it’. And I think that was one of those moments for me.
I still have the elephant to this day, in a box of special little gifts I have received in my life.”
12. Kindness wins.
“I actually just quit my job yesterday because I realized that my managers were being intentionally rude and hurtful towards me and the higher ups didn’t care.
One of the days I was just having a hard day and when my manager came down on me intentionally harder than was necessary I had a major panic attack. Later that afternoon he admitted he wrote and reread the mean message but decided to hit send anyway because he knew I “wouldn’t like it”. I just realized in that moment I couldn’t be in a place that condoned that kind of behavior from employees. Said managers then begged me to stay after I put in my notice. Of course.
Later that evening I went to the grocery store and saw the same meat counter lady who is always there. She’s always so polite and friendly so because I was having a bad day I asked her “how are you always just so gracious and friendly?! I have never seen you otherwise and I love that I can always expect to see you here with a smile on”.
She instantly started to tear up and told me what I said meant so much because she was having an absolutely horrible day. I just thought again how much words can matter and felt even more justified leaving my job.
You never know what a person is going through and your attitude and words can make or break someone’s day, so why not just be kind? My go to response to people who are rude to me is “you seem like you’re having a bad day, I hope being rude to me made you feel better about yourself.” Usually shuts people down pretty quickly.”
Now we want to hear from you.
In the comments, tell us why you choose kindness!
Thanks a lot, friends!
