Grace Under Fire: Be Kind Anyway

I had been saving up my last two pieces of candy. I was going to enjoy them. When recess came, though, I gave one to a kid in my class. He was supposed to be my friend, and sharing seemed like the nice thing to do.

Later that afternoon, I stuttered while reading aloud. I felt ridicule and shame. When the room burst out laughing, his face was one of the first I saw. I didn’t break down or cry—I just remember being confused.

I rode home on the bus perplexed. Why do people have to be so mean? Why say one thing and then act in a completely different way? When I got home my mom listened, calmed me down, and reassured me. She told me that sometimes our friends will let us down. Finally, she told me that no matter what happens in life, good or bad, be kind anyway.

“Keep being kind, Brian. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.”

My mother grew up in an Amish home and left the church a few years after finishing the eighth grade. Despite her limited formal schooling, she remains one of the smartest people I know. Her advice was hard to follow, but like so much of what she taught me, it was spot on.

Her words came rushing back recently while I was looking up a few quotes for a work project and stumbled across Aesop’s insight: “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

My childhood candy incident stayed lodged in my brain. In its own small way, it taught me a lot about life. I learned to stand up and believe in myself, give people grace, and, most importantly, that we sometimes have to cheer ourselves up.

When I’m feeling lost or melancholy, I return to past lessons that I’ve learned and others have taught me. Here are a few that touched me recently. Some of these quotes address kindness; others focus on pushing through adversity. Hopefully, one speaks to you, too:

“One of the sincerest forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” –Bryant H. McGill

“What’s the good of living if you don’t try a few things.” — Charles Schulz

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” –Leo Buscaglia

“You find that you have peace of mind . . . when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave — win or lose.” –Gordie Howe

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” –Pelé

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” –Aesop

“Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence, and inspiration.” — Robin Sharma

What do you think?

What’s a piece of simple advice from childhood that has stuck with you over the years? I’d love to hear it in the comments.