The Importance of Kindness Over Rightness: Balancing Empathy and Assertiveness

Is being right more important than being kind and understanding? This question often arises in personal relationships, professional settings, and even online forums. It's a pertinent discussion as we navigate our complex social and emotional landscapes. While asserting our rightness can sometimes feel intuitive, particularly in defending ourselves or our beliefs, prioritizing kindness and understanding can foster better connections and long-lasting relationships.

Kindness vs. Rightness in Personal Relationships

According to Tulip, a self-reflected writer and thinker, "Kindness is more important than being right." Indeed, kindness is a quality that involves being friendly, generous, and considerate. It requires self-strength, self-control, and self-care. On the other hand, being right is often associated with winning an argument or proving someone else wrong, which can lead to conflict and division.

Personal relationships thrive when kindness and understanding are prioritized. If you're inclusive and empathetic towards others, you're also more likely to foster meaningful connections.

Striking the Balance Between Kindness and Rightness

In personal relationships, it's essential to strike a balance between being kind and sometimes dropping kindness to assert the truth. Sometimes, being right is necessary to help others' lives and ensure fairness.

For instance, if a loved one is making harmful choices, it might be crucial to gently steer them towards a better direction rather than turning a blind eye. In such instances, “being right” can empower and guide someone to a better life.

Embracing Our Unique Scars and Learning from Our Experiences

Each of us carries our unique set of experiences and scars. Some of us lost a parent, while others have gone through a breakup or childhood trauma. These experiences shape our perspectives and influence our choices. By acknowledging our own challenges, we can better empathize with others.

Tulip shares, “I am practising to be kinder. But it takes time you know. I don’t know if I will ever reach the other side of absolute love and kindness. But yeah I will try to be more kind and empathetic every single day of my remaining life.”

Kindness as a Choice

Ultimately, being kind and understanding, as well as being right, are choices. Context matters when dealing with these ethical dilemmas. If the choice aligns with your values and actions, it's the right choice for you. For example, if it's your own life you're navigating, "do whatever is right for you." If someone else is insisting on being right over being kind, it's essential to address their emotions and understand their perspective.

Both kindness and assertiveness should be balanced to ensure your stance is taken with empathy and understanding. Being right doesn’t mean you can disregard the feelings or opinions of others. Respect for others' feelings should always be a priority.

Even when we are right, we are not always wholly so and not over time. Even when we are kind and understanding, it can go poorly at times. However, even in those instances, asserting your rightness can be an opportunity to be kind and listen, as it may help in clarifying miscommunication.

Just decide what you think and feel about it and go with it. You will make good choices for yourself, and that will allow you the way forward from the context.