The Downside of Kindness

The Downside of Kindness

YES dude, this is a no-brainer.  Everyone of us grew up, with KINDNESS being taught and as we were on the receiving end during our childhood, in our adulthood it's kind of payback time NOT because we are obligated BUT it's just part of our human nature.  BUT WHEN did we realize that there is that Downside of Kindness?  YES dude, there are always two sides of a coin and KINDNESS can't be exempted from that equation📗📙📘

NOT to be cynical veering towards becoming negative, our kindness may make us vulnerable by getting easily hurt, OR worse, we can get disadvantaged in various ways like people may tend to bully use OR frankly, people may 'USE' you triggered by their ulterior motives.  In the end, you could end up with unrealistic expectations because normally, human nature dictates that as a bare minimum, we will at the very least acknowledge, if NOT reciprocate that KINDNESS we extended to someone else😌😌😌

NOW, let's be frank here.  Being KIND is a-ok BUT being TOO NICE may get you too far down the road.  KINDNESS is always in style BUT being a pushover can hurt you in many different ways.  True, it is always in our favor to be NICE and it is rarely advantageous to be passive.  To quote Quora user Courtney Bryant, 'A BLEND OF KINDNESS AND ASSERTIVENESS IS A MAGNIFICENT COCKTAIL.  Indeed!!!

BUT WHAT happens WHEN you get the recipe wrong, mixing in too much deference for others and NOT enough hard-headed pursuit of your own goals?  So, the challenge here is to equip us with that capability to know that you have 'crossed the line' WHICH qualifies you then to be tagged as a 'pushover' as well as warnings about the dangers of taking your [entirely admirable] urge to please others probably way too far❎❎❎

Our takeaway:  Being KIND may lead 'some' to think that you are weak and that's WHEN one may take advantage of your KINDNESS.  This is generally the rap against being too quick to put your needs in favor of the needs of others and that is already a 'potential 'RED FLAG'.  BUT let's face, genuinely nice people AREN'T rare BUT especially in some corners of the business world, me thinks that they are hardly in the majority either.  This sad fact means that if you are truly NICE, you're liable to be occasionally misunderstood and even viewed with suspicion.  Suddenly, people will turn things around you and suspect that behind your KINDNESS is an ulterior motive.  Whoah, witf these DOWNSIDES OF KINDNESS!@#$%?