Killing them with kindness is different than being kind

I posted the note above in a few social channels this morning and I received some questions asking for more info about what I meant, so here goes…

The phrase “kill them with kindness” normally surfaces when someone is being rude to us and it suggests that the solution to this perceived attack is to respond with kindness. That’s really great. Unfortunately it also suggests that kindness is to be used (at least in this context) as a weapon by which we will destroy the offending party. That’s less great.

I suggest that we strive to worry less about winning and worry more about simply being kind – even when our kindness is seemingly undeserved. It’s might not be easy, but it just might make things better for everyone.

What do you think?