Kindness is Sunny Thinking
by Sunny Thinking
This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme is kindness. It’s a chance for us all to share our own stories about why kindness really matters.
Kindness Matters
In a previous job I was once told by my so-called boss I was too ‘kind’ to be successful in the workplace and would never reach my potential unless I became more selfish. I had great pleasure in ‘kindly’ telling him I disagreed and that I felt kindness was the beating heart of our daily existence. Without kindness I explained, there was no real chance of happiness and he would never really fulfil his ‘potential’ for wellbeing. Wellbeing I said, was the real measure of success. I thanked him for his time and left him looking slightly baffled and confused with his sales forecast spreadsheet. That same spreadsheet that showed my criticised, warm, friendly and personable approach had helped me hit my revenue target. But hey, no prizes for one-upmanship or naming and shaming. My point is, kindness is a wonderful thing.
Kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Rather than be a weakness it’s actually a show of courage and strength to show kindness, particularly when life becomes a wee bit upside down and challenging. Life in Lockdown has more than highlighted this for sure. Apart from anything else, the unselfish act of being kind is also good for your own happiness too. That warm feeling you get when doing the right thing and offering a random act of kindness, has no monetary value.
Sunny Thinking
When I set up Sunny Thinking back in 2008, we established our very own little manifesto as a way of showing our commitment to certain guiding principles. A certain ethos and philosophy that we all buy in to as a Sunny Thinking team. Kindness encapsulates many areas of this manifesto.
Being kind is also how we approach our working relationships with both clients and suppliers. It’s one of our strengths. Yes our main job is to come up with branding, design and marketing solutions. That comes as standard as we’re an award-winning creative agency based in Altrincham. But we think it’s how we do it that matters. Being kind in our approach is just as important when it comes to super-serving our wonderful clients. Affection, courtesy, decency, fairness, gentleness, warmth, caring, thoughtfulness, cooperation, attention, respectfulness, being charitable…just some of the characteristics we feel should be at the heart of any good client agency relationship.
Sunny Thinking Clients
When it comes to our clients, we are fortunate enough to work with so many wonderful people. This week Making Space launched their #WindmillsNotWalls campaign showcasing their amazing stories of kindness during the CoronaVirus Pandemic.
We also proudly support the likes of buzz, Manchester’s NHS Health and Wellbeing Service, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and GM Moving that do so, so much to enhance people’s health and wellbeing.
But kindness manifests itself in many other different ways too. We love working with all sorts of clients from many different backgrounds…but one thing we love more than anything, is collaborating with people who work in an ethical and sustainable way. Brands and businesses who have an authentic culture built on looking after their people and the planet, not just their profits. That to us is kindness personified.
Be kind…and look after yourselves.
Cheers,
Jonathan
