My husband and I are graduates from BYU, and my husband also graduated with an MBA from BYU’s Marriott school. So, we are lucky and get their magazines. I love reading them. I love learning about people going forth and accomplishing great things, serving many people, and finding joy in their journey.
Today I want to talk about a portion of an article called Kindness is a Verb. If you want to read the whole article click here. Then click on read current issue(It’s the summer 2018 issue if you are reading this later in time.:)) A verb means an action word. To be kind to someone, we have to act. Sometimes it is easy to reach out and help someone, and other times when we have been hurt, it is much harder. But it always requires us to act to be kind.
In the section of the article, Forty Seconds of Compassion, it talks about how doctors can face burnout. Stephen Trzeiak thought their biggest problem in that scenario is lack of compassion. He read that many thought taking vacations, spending time in nature, or learning relaxation techniques would help with burnout. But Stephen found a study by Johns-Hopkins University that talked about spending 40 seconds reassuring cancer patients that they were there with them through the entire journey, that patients felt less nervous. So he began to spend at least 40 seconds of compassion for each of his patients. He said, “I connected more, I cared more, not less.” His burnout began to lessen. He also said, “Compassion goes beyond empathy and inspires action.”
And like doctors, I think mothers can get burnout too. And sometimes we think that just leaving our family, taking a girls only trip, or getting a pedicure will help us to come out of that funk. But I agree with Mr. Tryeiak here. Compassion is the key. It is a way to battle burnout. Now I’ll be first to admit, there have been many times that I have thought, “I just need to get out of here” or “I can’t take being a wife and mom another day”. But in every instance, when I stop and look outside of my “poor me” thoughts, and look at ways to love and serve my family, those thoughts go away. And I am filled with more love towards my family as I think about what needs they have that day.
I’ve been thinking about having a theme for our family during this upcoming school year-it starts tomorrow! I have been pondering what would be a good theme for our family that would inspire us to act, but not be overwhelming to my family. Then I read this article. I thought, we can all spare 40 seconds. Less than a minute of our time spent focusing on the needs of the person we are with.
This article gives some ideas of what we can do:
Be Kind to Strangers
Thank someone every week
Put a surprise in a mailbox
Buy lemonade at a stand
Leave quarters at a laundry mat
Give a generous tip
Be a welcoming neighbor
Leave a surprise in a library book
Be kind to your server
Be Kind to Coworkers
Gift an inspirational book
Find our something new about a coworker
Endorse a skill or leave a positive recommendation on LinkedIn
Write a handwritten letter
Bake someone a cake
Write Positive sticky notes
Tutor someone
Laugh often
Be Kind to Animals
Foster a pet for adoption
Adopt a pet
Donate used blankets to a shelter
Fill a birdhouse with seed in your yard
Be Kind Online
Send an encouraging email
Message someone good morning or good night
Start a fundraiser
Share your favorite recipe
Write a positive comment on a website or a blog
Reply to a post you enjoy
Praise a local business online
I just love how simple these suggestions are. I am planning to put these up in our home. So that they can remind us in this upcoming year to think about being kind, then when the moment arises, we will be ready to act. So many times, a moment passes, and I think, oh man, I should have done this or that. But when we have these ideas before our minds constantly, I think we will be more prepared to act in that moment. To lift someone’s day, and in turn fill our hearts with joy.
Let’s go Be the Good.
Life is Good. Share the Good.
PS If you haven’t read my post The Ripple Effect, I share an experience I had with giving a quarter to a little boy. Made. My. Day.
