"It’s Raining Kindness"
The author wishes to remain anonymous
Edited by Shmuel Greenbaum
Printed with Permission of

 

I was driving to Center City, Philadelphia in a huge thunder storm.

 

While I stopped at a traffic light, I noticed a thinly dressed African American mother dragging her two pre-school children across the street. They had no protection from the pounding rain.

 

Being the second car in line at the light, I witnessed the passenger window of the Mercedes in front of me open and hand the mother a large stadium umbrella.

 

It was a little act...or was it?

"Teach Enthusiasm"
From: Kindness: Making a Difference in People's Lives: Formulas, stories, and insights
By Zelig Pliskin
Printed with Permission of Shaar Press

Give a person enthusiasm and you have given him a key to success. Enthusiasm isn’t everything, but it goes far.

When a person goes for a job interview, all things being equal, enthusiasm will give him a better chance of getting hired. Enthusiasm without knowledge and skill won’t accomplish. But an enthusiastic person is most likely to gain the necessary knowledge and skill. By helping someone increase his level of enthusiasm, you increase his potential for success when meeting new people.

Enthusiasm is energy. And energy is what you need to get up and go. Unfortunately, there are many of whom it can be said, "His get up and go has gotten up and gone." Don’t let that be said about you. Be enthusiastic about increasing the enthusiasm of others.

When enthusiasm is faked, it’s likely to be incongruent. It can be overdone. Some people will still appreciate it. "At least he’s trying." Others might be put off. There is external enthusiasm that increases internal enthusiasm. This is when you sincerely want to be enthusiastic, just that you aren’t spontaneously in this state. By acting externally the way you want to feel internally, you will increase your inner enthusiasm.

What are you spontaneously enthusiastic about? Ask this of yourself and of those you want to help increase their level of enthusiasm. Remember your most enthusiastic moments. Recall what you saw. See that vividly now. Recall how you sounded when you spoke with intense enthusiasm. Feel those feelings once again. By being able to access the state of enthusiasm at will, you will be able to transfer this to others.

If you try to teach someone to be more enthusiastic when you aren’t in this state yourself, you are lacking an important ingredient. Still, you can never tell. You might be able to say to someone, "Personally, I find it difficult to feel enthusiastic right now. But even if I can’t do it, you still might be able to."

Model enthusiastic people. Find people who are highly enthusiastic. Interview them and find out what thoughts and attitudes enable them to be enthusiastic. Practice talking the way they talk. Mirror their body language. The same way that you will experience more enthusiasm by mirroring enthusiastic people, so too you can help others become more enthusiastic by mirroring you when you are enthusiastic. Speak about something that you are enthusiastic about and ask the person you wish to inspire to mirror you. Have him speak in the same manner about something that arouses his enthusiasm. Keep giving him feedback about his tone of voice and body language.

Build up your own enthusiasm for doing acts of kindness. And do what you can to influence others to be enthusiastic about doing acts of kindness. This will have a powerful effect on many lives as the chain reaction keeps spreading.

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