Treat others as you wish to be treated

When others are angry at you, criticize you, or admire you and are nice to you, do you treat them in the same way?  Normally, people would respond nicely to those who are kind to them and  may respond the same way to those who are harsh to them.

Life coach Robert Taylor believes that no matter how people treat us, we have to treat them with kindness, even though those who are tactless in their manner.  This may be a tall order to some of us because our first reaction  is to return in the same gesture.

Like what happened to a friend when she bumped into her former classmate in high school after 20 years. She was greeted in this manner, “Oh, my God! You are so fat!” Without batting an eyelash, my friend responded, “ And you are very thin and pale. As if you just have risen from your tomb!”

Taylor has this to say, “Perhaps those who are unkind to us may have just been informed of a bad news:  a loved one who is seriously ill and is in the hospital, or they haven’t the money to pay their rent, or they are not feeling well. The list could be endless. Hence, it would be  a good gesture if the next time  others treat  you badly,  try to put yourself in their situation. By always doing our best to treat others as we would wish to be treated, we make things better for ourselves and others with whom we come in contact with.”

There are lots of ways wherein we can be kind to others. Here are some suggestions from the  “wikiHow website”:

Be compassionate towards others.  As Plato said, “Be kind to everyone you meet. They might be fighting a hard battle.” Everyone is undergoing some challenges in their lives. Before committing an action that might impact another person negatively, ask yourself this question, “Is this kind? “If you cannot answer this in an  affirmative way, this is a reminder to change your action and approach immediately.

Be present. The greatest gift of kindness to another person is to be in the moment in their presence – to be listening with care and to be genuinely attentive to them.

Be optimistic. Happiness, joy,  and gratitude rest at the heart of kindness, allowing you to see the good in others.  It doesn’t cost a dollar to look on the brighter side of things, either.

Be friendly. People who are kind tend to be friendly. Smiling and small talk with people can go a long way in making you friendlier  and the kindness will not go unnoticed.

Be grateful. People who are grateful are truly kind and easily able to express gratitude. They don’t take anything for granted and always thank people for helping them out.

Bear in mind  this profound thought from an unknown writer: “I pass this world but only once. Anything that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again.”