Happy Holidays 2024 | Thoughtful Quote Card with Journaling Prompts!

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Fierce Kindness is about creating a kinder world—and this year’s holiday quote and card is about why we need kindness now, more than ever, to heal our societal divisions…

As I reflect on the last few years, we are all seeing more war, political instability, economic hardship, environmental/weather disasters.

And then there are “small” shifts—that in some ways are more concerning. The big one that stands out for me is a decrease in civility and respect with each other.

I think this is because people feel unsafe. And when people feel unsafe, they tend to become less tolerant, less polite—and more distrustful. Online especially, where there are few social consequences, people are more aggressive and antagonistic.

Not sounding very positive and “holiday season” at the moment am I?

Well, hold on—I am going somewhere helpful with this!

From politics to conspiracy theories—and the very real cover-ups in government and business—everyone has a belief or opinion about how we got here and what we should do next.

So when we meet someone who believes something we disagree with, it’s so easy to get frustrated and blame them for the state of the world, rather than look at the bigger picture.

So I’m sharing this quote from Melina Abdullah. She’s one of the founders of Black Xmas and wrote this in November 2013:

Under capitalism, we are trained to compete rather than cooperate, to hoard rather than share, and to hate rather than love… As revolutionaries, we are charged with transforming the system. Living a life of loving kindness is a good first step. #BeKind.

My point? Let’s stop blaming each other…

Because we’re all in this together—whatever our beliefs, activities or politics.

If we must blame “anyone”, can we please blame the capitalist “system” that encourages competition¹—and concentrates wealth in the hands of a few billionaires (at our expense).

The only way we can change a hostile world is by being the change we wish to see.

So Let’s Be Kind!

Let’s recognize that our neighbour (online or physically) is caught up in the same system we are.
Let’s do what we can to reduce the divisiveness, by being more kind and understanding of others.***
And let’s be kinder to ourselves when we find things hard. Remember that being kinder to ourselves makes us a better person around others!

***That doesn’t mean we should tolerate bullies. That’s where Fierce Kindness comes in. Learn about the Kindometer here.

But we can and should stop blaming each other. Everyone responds to this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world in the best way available to them. We are all finding it hard.

We are all in this together. Let’s #BeKindAlways

So if you’d like to go deeper, below are some journaling prompts, inspired by this year’s quote for you to ponder over the holidays.

Your Fierce Kindness Inspirational Journaling Prompts for the Holidays

How am I a revolutionary already (however small)? What do you do that makes a difference?
Where am I already great at being kind?
And when do I blame or get frustrated by people who hold different views to me?
What does #BeKindAlways mean to you?
Where and when could I be more kind to myself?
Where and when could I be more kind to people I love?
Where and when could I be more kind to people around me in the wider world?

As we head into 2025, let’s all work to be part of the change we wish to see—a kinder and more understanding world!

#BeKindAlways

Finally, this holiday season I wish you joy and blessings. And if the holidays are challenging for you, I wish you peace and comfort.

With love and best wishes,

PS. If you haven’t already, grab the Free 25 Things to Do Next Year for super-lite goal-setting. And if you’re serious about goal-setting check out our fresh, updated Annual Goal-Setting Workbook for 2025 here >>

¹ How does Capitalism impact you?

Well, here’s just one quick example: the goal of Capitalism is ever-increasing profits. Never-ending growth. So when a big corporation doesn’t make its targets for ever-increasing profits, the management and markets panic. The corporation can’t put prices up because it will lose sales to the competition. So it cuts costs, laying people off, reducing wages, using technology (AI for example) or using cheap labour half-way around the world. That means more people around you (and perhaps you!) out of work. Now we are competing for fewer jobs. And those who do have a job are expected to work longer hours or are given more responsibilities in the time they have.

So now there’s more stress and competition all around. And this has been going on for decades, happening slowly over time. With every corporation focused FIRST on profit, and not the wellbeing of its employees, customers or the community it lives in, there is this slow degradation of everyone’s quality of life. Decisions are made based on financial impact, not how it would impact quality, the local community or environment.

PS. It doesn’t have to be this way. Did you know there was a time in England (the 1800s) when early “Capitalists” built housing for their workers to get them out of hovels, gave them clean running water and a dry roof over their heads. Yes, this was self-serving as it provided a more reliable workforce—but it was also kind…

Image of Reindeer with squirrels and holding lamp at night in the snow by Kudy Badorota via Pixabay