Most people who are good at spreading kindness also understand that they feel the happiest and most accomplished when they openly accept kindness from others. It is human nature when someone receives kindness to feel good and thus they are more likely to carry that kindness forward. This is the concept of “paying it forward”. We receive kindness, we feel good, we carry on the kindness by spreading it to others. Those people that receive our kindness also feel good and continue to spread it onwards.
The exact same concept can be misapplied for anger, frustration, hatred etc. When I am rude to a cashier or honk my horn unnecessarily, it upsets me and the recipient of that anger, but it does not stop there. The next person I or that person encounter will feel this negativity and anger and now they are the unintended victim of something that may have happened an hour ago!
How well a person receives compliments often determines how happy they are. When a person is committed to loving themselves and open themselves up, they realize how important self-love is. How you treat others is a direct reflection of how you treat yourself.
So, how do we receive kindness? It’s incredibly easy. Whenever someone does a kind act, pays you a compliment of helps you in any way, simply acknowledge it. Acknowledgement can be in the form of a smile, a wink, a verbal thank–you, a fist bump, or even a written thank–you note.
Every parent, teacher, and martial arts instructor has a drawer somewhere full of notes, trinkets, drawings, cards etc. from their students which they treasure. These mementos are proof of that person’s “WHY?”. It provides proof that their work is providing value to someone, and this makes it all worth it to them.
– Written by Kumar Bandyo