Why Is It Easier to Be Kind to Others?
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Last night I stumbled across a TikTok video of a woodworker making a really cool piece of furniture. I clicked through to his profile and started scrolling, and I was completely amazed at his creativity and skill. As I scrolled through video after video, I was surprised to see that some of his posts got huge numbers of views while others struggled to get any views at all. But I was even more surprised by my own reaction: I didn’t care at all. This stood out to me because it’s the exact opposite of how I imagine people reacting when my own content doesn’t perform well. If I post a video and it flops, I imagine people thinking “See, I knew it! This guy isn’t actually that good. Look how poorly his video did!” This is absurd, because I would never even think this about another person, let alone say it. So why do I think it about myself? This whole thing got me thinking about a concept known as “the Reverse Golden Rule”. The Golden Rule, of course, tells us to treat others the way we would want to be treated. But I think for many of us, that’s actually much easier than the opposite, which is treating ourselves the way we want others to be treated. I don’t know about you, but I struggle with this. I can give others the benefit of the doubt, but I won’t give it to myself. I can give others grace when they don’t hit their goals, but I won’t give myself the same grace. When someone else’s video flops, I want to say “Don’t worry about it! Keep going!” When mine flops, I think “You should give up, dude. You clearly aren’t cut out for this.” So here’s the question I’m sitting with this week: What would it look like to treat myself the way I treat others? Not lowering the bar or making excuses, but offering the same patience, perspective, and encouragement I try to give to everyone else. Because if a single underperforming video doesn’t define them, maybe it doesn’t get to define me either. Happy Friday friends. Make it a good one. Kyle Scheele |
Kyle Scheele
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