Work hard, be kind

At home, we have a poster in our kitchen which says: Work Hard and Be Kind.

This simple phrase is something my wife and I have tried to instill in our children as they have been growing up and the mantra we try to live by. Maybe it sounds a bit cheesy but think about it carefully.

The key point is its simplicity and utter achievability for every one of us. Both of these things are entirely in our own gift, we can choose to work hard and we choose whether to be kind.

Numerous studies have explored whether hard work or natural talent is more likely to led to success. Of course, talent is important, but being talented doesn’t automatically equate to working hard. However, I’ve seen numerous examples of people who may not have what you’d call ‘natural talent’, but work hard to learn, to develop and to achieve. These people impress me much more.

I’m a believer that working hard and being kind aren’t mutually exclusive. I believe you can do both, I believe we all can, and best of all we don’t need to rely on anyone and anything else to do these two things.

Of course, it’s really easy to be the opposite of these things. In some ways it’s easier to sit back and blame ‘lack of opportunity’ or say ‘nobody told me’ or ‘I wasn’t offered that job’. It’s certainly harder to look for opportunities, to work hard at constantly developing and staying in touch, but it’s so much more rewarding when you do. It’s also easier to be unkind, not think about the impact of your words and actions on others. One of the things I love most about BGL is the amount of different perspectives and viewpoints we have. It’s what makes this such an interesting place. It’s much easier to criticise someone or run them down, but it’s much more fulfilling to lift someone up, offer help or give praise or thanks.

So, think before you say something which may be unkind, think about what that person may be dealing with. Don’t hide behind pointed statements or comments on social media – and, yes, this includes our internal channels. If you wouldn’t say it to someone in person, don’t write it. And if you don’t care whether you’ll hurt someone, think twice about whether you should be here with us.

We’re all on the same side.

Work hard, be kind.