Never let loyalty and kindness leave you. Tie them around your neck as a reminder, write them down within your heart, then you will find favor with both God and People, and you will earn a good reputation.
-Proverbs 3:3-4.
Work hard, be kind and amazing things will happen. It is much more challenging to hold your tongue and speak positively toward others, especially those who have wronged you or mistreated you. Being kind is more challenging and more honorable. Everyone has their own demons and is fighting their own fight. You don't always know why they have been mean to you or why they have said or done certain things. Once someone has been mean to you, it is easy to harbor your anger, hurt, and frustration inside of you. That can sometimes be displaced onto others if not disposed properly. Fighting fire with fire just makes larger flames—sometimes, they even become impossible to put out. If you're kind, and mindful, you're more likely to have a better outcome if you're kind, rather than if you're not. Maybe the person you're speaking too simply needs kindness to make their day better.
Or change their outlook. Being kind can be a way to positively alter someone's cloudy mood. Even though you may not always see the impact of your kindness, it still exists and it still matters. No, it's not easy all the time. But it will improve your own mood, too, if you remember that instead of tearing someone down to be on your level, you've lifted the two of you up with kind words or gestures. It's the right thing to do! You are simply rising above in a different way. Basically, doing yourself a favor and earning an outstanding reputation. Your words or actions can last forever on others. Sometimes it doesn't feel permanent to you, but to the other person, it could be everlasting.
