Nice guys finish last

Day 42 / 366

Why do people choose to be nice to others?

For as long as I can remember, I have always chosen to be nice to the people I encounter in my life. Even if they don’t reciprocate the niceness. If I try to remember now why I became this way, I can’t think of any reason. It always felt like the only right thing to do.

Things are simpler when we are kids. Kids are not complicated. When I was young, the kids that I was nice to would generally be nice to me as well. Or at least, they would be grateful. One’s kindness was always appreciated, and applauded. And when you are in need, the same kids that you helped, would help you out as well. I guess that’s where the saying “A friend in need is a friend indeed” comes from.

As we become adults, we find out that life is not that straightforward. People in the real world are selfish, and kindness is no longer a virtue. Being kind is perceived as a weakness.

People will take advantage of you. Others will advise you not to be kind or help out others, just take care of yourself. And even if you help a 100 people, none of them might show up when you are in trouble.

All of this has happened to me multiple times. Yet, I still choose to be kind. In this day and age, being a good person is a full-time job. It drains you both physically and mentally. It is way easier to just be selfish.

I am still optimistic about the power of Karma. I strongly believe that if you put good out into the Universe, the Universe will bring good back into your life someday. I believe that our purpose in this world is to build something that outlives us. And we can all achieve that if we help those in need.

“What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.” — Albert Pike