My responsibility to all others is to be honest and kind. Never one without the other. Honesty without kindness is cruelty. Kindness without honesty is being fake. I do not believe in this idea of being “nice”. “Nice” to me is simply doing what others either expect or want me to do. “Oh, that is not a nice thing to say” or “Be nice”. What does this really even mean?
If I know that my intention is not to be unkind or to be dishonest I am not going to be worried about how you perceive me. That is your own perception of what I said or who I am. I have no control over that perception. It belongs to you and I have no desire whatsoever to change it. I am not under the delusion that I can “make” you like me or like what I do or what I feel. My responsibility is simply to deliver my truth and my feelings in a kind and honest manner.
I want you to like me. I really do. However, I will not sacrifice my truth to allow you to be comfortable or to have you perceive me in another way. If who I am fits into your idea of what “nice” is then you can say that I am “nice”.
In my opinion, the world is suffering from too much “niceness” and not enough kindness and honesty.
I prefer to not be a part of it.
EXCERPT from "A Prescription For Contentment", by Dr. Crewson Andrew Martin
Copyrighted material; use only with permission
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