Keep Going, Keep Giving

Am I wasting my time here?

We all ask ourselves if we're involved in some uphill battle to achieve a worthwhile goal. I've spent over two decades in roles that largely involve serving others in hospitality or building community. Each of those roles consists of using up what feels like a nonrenewable supply of kindness that we must choose to use daily. I was challenged this week while going through Seth Godin's "The Practice: Shipping Creative Work" with the idea that it's easy to tire of making decisions when the outcomes you're hoping for don't appear to be immediately visible. There is often a gap between making good decisions and experiencing good results.

Showing genuine hospitality is a constant test of character. It's a test because offering kindness, generosity, and care to someone doesn't always yield the desired results. You can walk into any human interaction with pure motives and still be attacked and misunderstood. While kindness often feels like we're spending a valuable and limited resource, it's a resource that is never wasted if given. It's the right decision, no matter the outcome.

If you have some kindness to offer, keep giving.