Something that I have recently observed from both working in retail and also living on a college campus is the difference in kind people. To me, it is just such a noticeable difference in energy the person is giving off. And I mean genuinely kind, not just paying for the person's coffee behind you in the drive-thru kind of nice.
While that is an incredibly kind gesture, it is so much more important to be kind every day, and to every person you meet. You don't need some elaborate gesture or need to give someone anything, except maybe some attention. By thanking dining hall employees or asking the librarian how their day has gone shows so much kindness in some of the simplest forms.
These simple, and underrated gestures can truly make someone's day that much brighter. And that is the type of energy that people want to be around. The person working at customer service, I promise, is not trying to sabotage your shipment order if it isn't there at the exact time the UPS locator said it would, so maybe take a few deep breaths before picking up the phone to announce your annoyance. While, yes, it can be frustrating, it is so important to think about things realistically and treat others kindly. What is the likelihood of someone going that extra measure to help you if you just screamed at someone for a delay in your package? Threatened to call their manager? Yeah, I don't think you'll be getting much help from them in the near future.
Being kind doesn't just stop with strangers, but you should bring this into your daily lives and the relationships with friends and family. Ask how they are, and really, I mean really listen. Yeah, it can grind your gears if someone is being dramatic, but let them vent to you and show them that you care about them.
Being so wrapped up in your own day to day that you forget to check on friends is seriously not cool. If someone asks you how your day was and you tell them everything you did from start to finish, please ask them about their day, it really is not that hard, I promise. This simple question, even if they didn't do much, means so much more to the other person than the amount of energy it takes to ask and listen.
If you are on the flip side to that, and you are in a one-sided friendship, you have every right to cut that off. Not in a mean and hurtful way, but you don't need to feed that toxic energy of people who only don't simply ask who you are and what's going on. They will figure it out soon enough, and hopefully, learn their lesson.
A truly kind person does not have an off situation, a bad day maybe, but never off. It is okay to have days that you are so frustrated or days you are so sad you just want to sleep all day, but this is no excuse or justification in treating others poorly. There are tons of outlets to get emotions out, and taking them out on other people is just plain unacceptable.
Honestly, just be nice, always.
