Most people strive to be kind than to be right. But what’s the cost of being kind? Houston Kroft, an author, will impart his deep dive about kindness.
Moreover, Kroft defines kindness as an overused word that eventually became undervalued.
“When I think about kindness — and I’m guessing when most people think about kindness — they think about the things like the pay-it-forward coffee lines. And while those things are great, we need a new way of thinking about it,” Kroft stated.
For Kroft, the misconception of people about kindness is that it is free. But in reality, there are costs when you choose to be kind. When an individual opts to radiate change, one needs to exert effort, spend time, and give more energy.
When you choose to be kind, you definitely sacrifice comfort. It cost you to listen and empathize with others. More often than not, kindness costs people discipline and reprioritization.
“If I don’t spend time first identifying what people are going through, what they’re navigating, what they actually need, then my kindness is going to typically serve me more than it does the person on the far side,” Kroft stated.
Respectively, empathy and kindness somehow correlate. People can’t be kind if they do not put their feet in other’s shoes. It is genuine kindness when you show empathy to people who hurt you often.
“Empathy is an easily confused concept because people think that empathy is an action unto itself,” Jamil Zaki, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Stanford University, said.
“Empathy is more of an umbrella term that encapsulates sharing, thinking, and caring ” he added.
Interestingly, the cost of being kind does not outweigh the benefit of doing it. Kindness is what the world needs today. People tend to forget that at the end of the day, it is the relationship that matters most. In life, you will not be remembered for what you have accomplished but for how you impact the lives of others.
