Kindness

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." - LAO-TZU

Kindness in words creates confidence. How you speak to others has a profound influence on how they see themselves. If you continually refer to someone as stupid, they will eventually see themselves as stupid and begin to behave that way. That will cause other people to say they're stupid and then you have a downward spiral. Hardly the way to build his confidence. If you continually refer to someone as bright and intelligent, he will eventually feel much better about himself and begin to behave better too. He will gain confidence in himself.

Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Negative thinking reverts to blame, which causes a closed mind. If what happened is the fault of someone or something, or even luck, then it closes off discussion of alternative possibilities. It's their fault, period. If we think we have no control over the situation, there is no point thinking about how the situation can be changed; that becomes an exersise in frustration and is quickly abandoned. If we think kindly about it, we can begin to explore the possibilities for improving it.

Kindness in giving creates love. It truly is giving that creates love. Love for someone comes from kindness,the desire to make them happy; instead of the receiving of their gifts. Of course, normally in our relationships both happen at the same time, which is why we get them confused. Real unconditional love is not at all interested in "what's in it for me". It is focused on what we can do for someone else in order to make them happier. It is fostered by kindness.