World Kindness Day - Thursday, 11/13/14

This coming Thursday is World Kindness Day and the simplest exhortation would be for me to encourage us all to practice a random act of kindness; and I do offer that.

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/kindness-day/

But kindness has a deeper meaning to. When I asked the woman who became my wife what she found attractive about me, she immediately answered that she knew at first meeting that I was a kind person, and that was especially important to her. I am not sure I thought much of kindness before then, but if it was important to Rockman, then it became important to me.

Some years later, she wrote an editorial for Reference Services Review entitled Kindness as a Leadership Virtue (I may have the exact title wrong). Her point was that being kind and being a strong and effective leader are complementary, not contradictory. I think she was right then and is right now.

(See also this Forbes article from last year: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carriekerpen/2013/11/18/kindness-does-not-equate-to-weakness-in-leadership/)

And there endeth my tangent on kindness and leadership.

So on Thursday, please take a moment to smile at someone/everyone, offer a thank you to a colleague, co-worker, etc., let someone go ahead of you in a checkout line, pay the toll for the car behind you - you get the idea. It costs little and offers immeasurable satisfaction.

November 5: Remember, remember, it's stress awareness day

This Wednesday is November 5 and that means:

It is Guy Fawkes Day. "Remember, remember the 5th of November, the gunpowder, treason and plot. I know of no reason, why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."

And it is Stress Awareness Day. (Do you suppose Guy Fawkes felt any stress as he was bringing explosives to Parliament?) In any event, don't just be aware of stress, as in, Gee, I sure am feeling stressed; do something about it. Take a walk, have a run, or swim some laps; practice Tai Chi; knit; bowl; dance; wear a Guy Fawkes mask; tell knock-knock jokes; eat comfort food; put on that silly piece of clothing you've been looking for an excuse to wear.

I plan to put on one of my hats and count how many smiles I get as I run my errands for the day. Of course, if I don't get any smiles, then I will feel stressed and depressed and that's actually my normal state so how will I see the difference!