Monday Mantra: The Currency of Kindness

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation".

Every Monday I will post a new thought, idea, or focus for the week. When you need a breather from life, when you need a little inspiration, or when you're about to jump over the conference table and strangle your co-worker, remember the mantra.

Monday Mantra: Kindness is the best kind of currency

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A while back I was thinking (Again?! I know, I know!) about the crazy things people do for money and power. How those two things are always tied together. How we could find a way around them, if that was even possible. What I came up with will probably never happen, never even be possible, but thinking about it makes me happy.

I call it: The Currency of Kindness Plan

For every good deed and kind action you take, you get currency (aka money in a credit form). It would work like this: If you help someone that dropped something, you get a credit. If you did your job at work and treated your co-workers kindly, you get a credit. If you assisted your elderly neighbor with grocery shopping, you guessed it, cha-ching- credit. Without those kind actions, you don't get anything - simple as that.

Now, some sort of verification system would have to be in place, obviously. Many, many, many details would have to be hashed out, but that's getting into the weeds of the plan...this fake plan that will never see the light of day. Let's just go back to what it could be, if the world could ever work this way...

Let's say you're at work. If you're an a**hole of a manager or terribly rude employee, you're kindness account will suffer greatly. Why is this beneficial? Well, this means CEOs worldwide have to run ethical companies that actually care about their employees. This means teachers who kick-ass in the classroom will finally make what they should. This means kindness - not cruelty, not acts of terror, not crime - mandates how much power you yield. I can get behind anyone that's kind, no problem at all. You want to be president? OK, how many kind things did you do last year?

Clearly, my plan is genius. Flawed and completely unrealistic, but genius none the less.

Anyway, since this idea will never happen, here's a video thing that will bring you some laughs. Shawn Achor has been studying happiness for years (aka Positive Psychology). What he's learned will surprise you, entertain you, and hopefully change the way you view how happiness can be achieved...which is really not about the achieving at all. It's not about dollar amounts or how much is in our bank accounts. Happiness is a much simpler thing than we've made it out to be.

P.S. Listen closely because he talks a little fast, but oh boy, is he hilarious!