Oct 8 - Standing Up

Day 280 of a year of kindness

Today I brought flowers to a lawyer’s office as a big thank you. 

Formisano & Company helped me resolve a complicated and painful legal issue. Ed Formisano and Diane Lepore had my back the whole time and it all worked out in my favor. 

One of the biggest misconceptions about kindness is to mistake it for weakness. Kindness means standing up for what’s right. It means staying true to your values even when the stakes are high.

Before I sought legal action, I used every kindness tool I had to resolve the issue - and I had a lot because I taught kindness at a university for three years. But after being as kind as I possibly could, I stood up for myself.

Sometimes, you have the Ed and Diane dream team and you win. And sometimes, just knowing you did the right thing is the win. Kindness is making sure what happened to you doesn’t happen to anyone else. Kindness is using your voice to protect others. Kindness is accountability. You can be kind and you can be tough.

Science of Kindness: Research reveals that taking empowered action triggers dopamine, the brain’s reward chemical, reinforcing confidence and motivation. Repeated acts of self-advocacy build new neural connections that reinforce your sense of agency and identity. As Dr. Kristin Neff, an expert in self-compassion research, said: “Self-compassion includes fierce action. It’s saying no to harm, yes to justice, and yes to protecting yourself.”#KindnessCounts #KindnessCounts2025 #kindness #justice #bekind #kindnesswins #formisano