Is Your Kindness Your Weakness?

Recently, I have had a few teammates ask me about this.  Is it possible you can be too nice or too kind when it comes to the business world?  Some people may think that kindness is actually a weakness in the business world. It is true that kindness may cause some people to enter a less than positive business relationship and to be too trusting, which can cause them to be taken advantage of. I have certainly experienced this a time or two!  However, if being kind, optimistic and warm-hearted is just who you are, then be ALL of that!   In the right context, these traits can be excellent superpowers. Want to know if your kindness is hurting your business? Check out what I have learned along the way.

Kindness is definitely not a weakness! And you cannot pretend to be something that you are not. That will not give you strength or make you successful. Don’t suppress any part of who you are (well, let’s say don’t suppress any “positive” parts of who you are….)  I see the future of our network marketing business as being more connected to humanity than less so. In such a business scenario, kindness and enthusiasm is definitely not considered a weakness. You just have to put yourself in the right environment that will give you a chance to thrive. Embrace your kindness and enthusiasm because they are both incredible strengths!

Of course, it is important to learn to set boundaries.  No one enjoys being treated like a doormat. There is a difference between being kind and letting others walk all over you. Some people just give so much that others take advantage of them. In that case, then kindness IS a weakness. However, it is possible to be generous with your time and resources while also setting healthy boundaries. I know I had to learn how to do this.  The bigger your team gets and the higher up you go, the bigger the need to set those boundaries for you, your health and your work/life balance.  Another thing we need to learn is that there is a big difference between giving to give and giving to get.   When we aren’t attached to the outcomes and give generously, better things happen for us than when we have that underlying criteria going on where it is really more about what we are going to get back.  This is usually followed by an attitude of resentment –where we think something like this: “I don’t know. I always give and get nothing in return. I guess I just expect too much of people.”

If you give too much and don’t set boundaries,  you may end up feeling like you are a victim and being taken advantage of. On the other hand, people who give to give, do so because they just want to. They want to help others and offer their resources, time, heart and love with little expectation of getting anything in return.  That may sound like an ideal but we can strive for it right?  What if you tried to do something purely out of the desire to connect with another human being?  Celebrate your kindness and generosity but if you don’t want your kindness to get you into trouble, then you will want to practice being deeply generous with your time and resources while ALSO learning to set boundaries and sometimes say no.  It really helped  me to ONLY say yes to the things that I was really happy to do. Don’t say yes because you want something in return, even gratitude. Say yes because you actually want to help and express love and caring for another human being.  The more of this you can do, the happier you will be and like attracts like. You will be blessed for those acts of kindness!

One last note on this: once you say yes to something, don’t feel upon when it comes time to do it. You said yes.  If you focus on what you can give rather than what you can get, you will be happier and more successful. Just remember, you can’t do this as a manipulation – you really have to give from a genuine place.

So embrace your kindness!  Cheers to your success!