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Kindness lowers the emotional temperature.

Kindness makes you stronger, not weaker.

Kindness helps you see the struggle behind the behavior.

We have all been through enough situations to show us that kindness is easy when people treat us well. But in this post, I want to talk about the real power of kindness, which shows up when others don't treat us so well. Of course, most of us see ourselves as kind. You notice it when your kids cooperate, your partner shows appreciation, your co-workers show respect, and even when strangers treat you well, it feels really good.

So, when the rubber meets the road, as the saying goes, is when others don't treat us very well. That is the real test because through my work as a psychologist with children, teens, adults, and families, I've seen just how quickly hurt can turn into defensiveness, criticism, retaliation, and withdrawal. That's why I encourage people to consider a deceptively simple idea: Be kinder when it is hard. Below, I'll explain five reasons why being kinder when it's hard is the better option more often than you may imagine.

1. Kindness Lowers the Emotional........

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