The Seed of Communication

Continuing with Denis Waitley's Seeds of Greatness, the sixth seed is communication. There is much to be said on this topic, but today I want to focus on the word kindness, as in the often quoted Bible verse from 1 Corinthians 13:4 – Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud. Here are some nice thoughts on kindness from Mark Roberts, who writes a daily devotional for The High Calling.

Waitley gives these five simple tips on being kind when communicating with others: (1) get in touch with strangers, (2) extend your hand first, (3) eye contact, (4) smile, and (5) volunteer your name first.

He also provides a list of words to strive to eliminate from our vocabulary, followed by the suggested replacement word or phrase:

• I can't – I can
• I'll try – I will
• I have to – I want to
• should have – will do
• could have – my goal
• someday – today
• if only – next time
• Yes, but – I understand
• problem – opportunity
• difficult – challenging
• stressed – motivated
• worried – interested
• impossible – possible
• hate – love

Happy Birthday America and let us be kind to all we encounter this holiday weekend.