I just made some oatmeal\/cranberry\/chocolate chip cookies. Spectacular.<\/p>\n
The recipe wasn\u2019t spectacular.<\/p>\n
My mixing and baking technique wasn\u2019t spectacular.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s what I did with those cookies that proved spectacular.<\/p>\n
I put some in a plastic bag and personally delivered them to co-workers.<\/p>\n
The cookies were part of an experiment I conducted.<\/p>\n
I was testing the effect of kindness on my co-workers, who are under pressure every now and then.<\/p>\n
Thing is, I don\u2019t go to the office often because I work from home. So, my experiment required me to find time in the day\u2014a time when I knew my co-workers wouldn\u2019t be bombarded with deadlines\u2014and I delivered the oatmeal\/cranberry\/chocolate chip cookies to the office.<\/p>\n
We chit-chatted for a few minutes. I thanked them for specific tasks they\u2019d performed in the last few weeks.<\/p>\n
Every time I run this experiment of taking time away from myself and acknowledging the good accomplishments of others, the evidence piles higher and higher. My job runs smoother. Communication is clearer. And, life feels hopeful.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve run this experiment without cookies and it works just as well.<\/p>\n
Once, a co-worker made a big mistake that affected me unhelpfully. When I walked into the office, I could see tangible relief come over her face. She realized I wasn\u2019t angry. We were able to discuss the mistake with the desire to make sure it didn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n
I have to admit, I\u2019ve conducted this experiment of taking the time to thank others, and it has backfired. But, I\u2019ll keep experimenting, this way I won\u2019t start assuming I know exactly how things will turn out. I won’t write someone off. Experimenting with kindness hasn\u2019t truly failed me yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I just made some oatmeal\/cranberry\/chocolate chip cookies. Spectacular. The recipe wasn\u2019t spectacular. My mixing and baking technique wasn\u2019t spectacular. It\u2019s what I did with those cookies that proved spectacular. I put some in a plastic bag and personally delivered them to co-workers. The cookies were part of an experiment I conducted. I was testing the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":429,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7,4],"tags":[1184,1186,1185],"class_list":["post-2278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community_world","category-at-work","category-relationships","tag-cranberries-in-cookies","tag-does-god-test-me","tag-nutrition-value-of-chocolate"],"yoast_head":"\n