Success Through Kindness

Success through Kindness

The blessings and benefits you receive from showing simple acts of love and kindness have been running through my mind for the past few weeks. We all have many opportunities through our different connections in work, school, with family and friends, as well as with new acquaintances, to show our true character and selflessness.

None of this will be mind blowing, but I challenge everyone who reads this to evaluate your lives and think of certain people that you can show more love and kindness too. Or if you feel it will be more beneficial you can focus on a certain place; such as work, where you can strive to treat your co-workers better as a whole.

I, of course, like the rest of us is far from perfect in this aspect of my life. Honestly I feel the experience I gain with regards to kindness can be more attributed to the people around me. Maybe it is just my inherent cuteness, or quiet nature, but basically everyone seems to be kind to me. I believe that everyone has had similar experience, it feels good to be on the receiving end of kindness, and it feels equally as awesome to be on the giving end.



When you have a younger sibling that messes with your stuff, a co-worker that makes a mistake or might possibly be incompetent at their job, or when you make an unrighteous judgement of someone you do or do not know well think about what everyone has to gain if you decide to be kind rather than to be mean, rude or or overbearing.

It doesn't cost a penny to be polite, and there are a lot more ways to be kind and good than to be bad. We just need to make the effort. It brings to mind something my dad taught me, "no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care."


We can all have more success in our friendships, we can all have a stronger influence with our correction and instruction, and just overall have better lives as we seek to be kind.

Anyways, that is my little thought for the moment. :)

Play the Game

Since being home from my mission to the Philippines I have been able to reconnect with friends and make many new ones. Being at Brigham Young University there always seems to be a pressure to be dating and to prepare to get married. I am definitely not opposed to dating or marriage in any way shape or form. Being able to discuss these matters with my best of friends I have found a fairly common irritation, and I will get back to that.

On a separate note, I love sports! Baseball, football, Frisbee, soccer, lacrosse, rugby, (in the Philippines rugby is something you sniff to get high... which I do not approve of) and basically any sport. I love games, competition and trying to improve myself , even in things that do not really matter; like croquette which is a great sport if you got the balls for it. (Hobbit reference). Anyway, my point being here is that games are fun, even applying rules and setting goals for real life in a game-like manner can be fun. However; there are certain facets of life where "playing the game" is not appropriate and even can be damaging. This week I started a new job as a salesman, which to be successful may seem to require "playing the game." I am learning quickly that I am not the kind of person that can lie or bend the truth to trick someone into buying something they do not need. I would rather earn less money than be dishonest. We all know the benefits of being honest, and working hard to earn a living.

I feel there are two different ways to try and improve ourselves to see benefits in our lives and even increase expectations we have for ourselves. First would be the quick fix way of trying to improve our abilities first, to throw on a smile and learn easy techniques that work in short term situations, but will have no real benefit in long term relationships with those that we work with. The second way would be to focus on our character and our core values as a human being. Honesty, integrity, hard work, discipline, and let the short term techniques be developed as part of our character. This is something that can be discussed in greater detail, but I think I will let you take time and think about it, and do not just think! Act! We all have ways to improve ourselves that have long term effects, and it is difficult and takes a lot of work. A quote that I really like by Emerson fits this topic well, "What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say."

There is a lot of truth in that statement. I tend to see the best in people and give them the benefit of the doubt. I am usually wrong in my expectations of people, some disappoint and some impress. I guess that is how life works.

So this is something I have been thinking of for quite some time, and I stumbled upon The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey, and he helped me put some of my thoughts together, I really recommend reading his book.

To tie my thoughts in together between dating and "playing the game" there is kind of an obvious thought that pops into people's minds. Dating is not about points, rebounds, free throws, impressing people by your short term techniques or always getting what you want. But it is about developing character, learning more about who you are, and developing lasting friendships. I cannot see how someone you care about so much can become your enemy, or someone that you never talk to or spend time with. I just suggest that we all take the time needed to strengthen our character, and do not look for the easy way out. Of course have fun, look for the right person, but do not be afraid of making great friends, developing yourself, and just becoming a better person through these long-term relationships, in a way that you could not do on your own.

Friendship

Hey Friends! I have never really attempted to put a blog together before, but I thought it sounded like fun. I have had a particular word in my head the past few days that means a lot to me; especially in Tagalog. The word is Kaibigan pronounced Kie-Bee-Gan. The Gan sounds more like the gain at the end of again. Anyways, the word means friend. And I seem to have the most amazing friends in the world, old friends, new friends, friends that climb on rocks, and everywhere in between. I am really grateful for all of them, and really feel blessed because of the new friends I have made this semester! And especially for my family members, who have been my best friends my whole life. (And of course TJ and Brendin, they are family too). Learning Tagalog and being with the Filipino people taught me a really simple but important message (this is really the part that I have been thinking about recently) about friendship. The word kaibigan stems from the root word ibig, which means love. That is the real meaning of friendship, even though I have no idea how to break down the word friend but the dictionary has got it down pretty well:

Word History: A friend is a lover, literally. The relationship between Latin amcus "friend" and am "I love" is clear, as is the relationship between Greek philos "friend" andphile "I love." In English, though, we have to go back a millennium before we see the verb related to friend. At that time, frond, the Old English word for "friend," was simply the present participle of the verb fron, "to love." The Germanic root behind this verb is *fr-, which meant "to like, love, be friendly to." Closely linked to these concepts is that of "peace," and in fact Germanic made a noun from this root, *frithu-, meaning exactly that. Ultimately descended from this noun are the personal names Frederick, "peaceful ruler," and Siegfried, "victory peace." The root also shows up in the name of the Germanic deity Frigg, the goddess of love, who lives on today in the word Friday, "day of Frigg," from an ancient translation of Latin Veneris dis, "day of Venus."

You learn something new everyday! I certainly do love my friends. I know my grammar is not great but this is something that has helped bring to light the real meaning of friendship for me. :)