Aesop, who lived around 600 BC and is famous for his fables, made a statement that is just as valued now as it was then. He said – no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
For me, this brings up 2 key issues that can relate to our business life just as much as our personal life.
Firstly, most of us don’t give unless we think that we can give big. And I’m talking about everything here – our time, money, energy … everything. If we only have five minutes, we think it’s not enough time to start a new task. A dollar doesn’t feel worth much so why put it in the charity box? Or there’s only ‘little ol’ me’, so how can I really impact this decision?
Secondly, we spend so much effort worrying about whether we’re going to waste ANYTHING, like time, money and energy, we often DO nothing. We have learned to look for a negative outcome to the exclusion of all the positive ones. If there is even a possibility that a second or a dime or an ounce may not have immediate return, we will not act.
And because we will not act, we miss out on many of the wonderful opportunities the world offers.
Action – Today, commit to making one small act of kindness for another person. Pause to help a colleague who may be puzzled by a problem. Share an idea during a brainstorming session. Offer to finish a task for someone else.
Give kindness in any size.