In the words of Cleo Wade, “There is no way to give kindness to another without knowing it in ourselves first.” Kindness starts with you. Kindness is a healer. So when you feel down, when you feel nothing is working for you, when you are exhausted, when you need to take a break, use the power of kindness to lift yourself back up. Because there is power in kindness.

If you want other people to treat you with respect, you must first treat yourself with respect and dignity. Because kindness is about doing the right thing. It is not about pretending to be who we are not. Kindness is not about faking things. It is about making things real. It is about bringing people together. It connects hearts.

Kindness is a thing of the heart. So whatever you are going through right now, treat yourself with kindness. Show yourself some love. Give yourself what you want from other people. If you want to be loved, love yourself first. If you want to be appreciated, appreciate yourself first.

Don’t focus on what you are going through, focus on what you are becoming. As Friedrich Nietzsche famously said, “To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.” He also said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” What does not kill you, makes you stronger. Whatever it is that you are facing right now, don’t give up, find meaning in it. Because “to live is to suffer.”