With life’s many stressors, we can become engulfed in the irrelevant details and stray from our deep personal truths. This narrows our focus to our own problems and internal conflicts. The one thing that can cut through the emotional white noise is extending authentic kindness to one’s self and others. It starts from the truth in our words and actions, because the truth forces us to face the justifications and distortions which distract us from our personal growth.

 

Focusing on how we want to live and show up in the world clears the way for meaningful explorations of thoughts and feelings without any pretense. When we don’t allow our minds to wander through the white noise, we can consolidate our mental, emotional, and physical resources to become much more effective in how we interact with others and navigate our surroundings. Becoming present is the key to engaging in authentic kindness.

 

Living from a primarily self-protective mindset can make us spin our wheels, puts a specific emphasis on the self and limits potential social connections, and closes the mind off to different ideas and opportunities. To gain clarity, we sometimes have to accept the uncertainties and the unknowns. It can be a leap of faith to extend yourself, but we only know what we know at any given time, so why not take a chance?