"Work hard and be kind"

I saw this quote in Facebook, and it's made me realize a lot of things (as always)...

I have never been a fan of crab mentality. I have always been the type of person who becomes happy for another person's success, because I know that another person's progress in the company means more progress for the company itself; plus the fact that I know that one day, that could be me.

I've been with IBM for 3 years now, and over the course of time, I have met some distinctly honorable people, and some people I'd rather just forget about. The latter has become a disappointment, and I am inherently surprised by the fact that some people tend to bring along their high school attitude to work.

True what they say, "growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional".

Maturity can never be dictated by age, nor does a company dictate one's work ethics. It all boils down to the person's character, and what that person chooses to do with the work given to him/her.

I had a manager once, who told me that complaining is not attractive. I kept telling myself before that I'm only human, and I do have the right to complain - I'm not Superman.

When I became a tenured employee, that's when I realized that complaining, indeed, is such an ugly thing to see. Hearing and seeing competent people rant about their work out loud (which I am guilty of at times) is kind of a turn off.  I had to see other people do it in order for me to realize that my complaining was not attractive at all. It's work - not everything about it is easy. My manager was right - you're working; it's part of your work - deal with it. We all deal with it. We all have to deal with it. It's called being employed.

In 3 years, I've come to know that being kind - not just to your bosses, but also to your fellow employees (no matter how stupid or lazy they can be at times) can bring forth amazing things. Having this sense of understanding towards your peers can go a long way, and can harvest maturity and growth, without you realizing it. Telling one's self that others are also in pain, or are going through something even when they don't show it, can help us be more kind towards others, especially to those whom we don't look up to, or to those that we even dislike.

Lastly, being kind to our work itself, will make us appreciate that being employed is better than nothing. Here's to the jobs that pay the rent, put food on our table, and allow us to enjoy our frappuccinos, Sereniteas, and Happy Lemons. Here's to the jobs that let us watch the Avengers twice, and buy the clothes we've been dying to have since we saw them on display.

To work hard and be kind -- it's not easy; but it is doable, should we put our minds and hearts into it.

Try it. It could do you some good, and it could even put a smile on someone's face without you knowing it.