Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.   Proverbs 16:24 (NLT2)

I don't think I use enough kind words.   It's not that I use too many harsh words.  But I do use too many blundt or "to the point" words.   I was watching my grandaughter play in a high school tennis match the other day.   Every time one of the girls would retrieve an errant ball and hand it to the opposing team, there would always be a thank you and a smile, even if the one saying thank you had just made a bad play.   I have played a lot of sports and know myself pretty well and I can tell you, that's not me.   After all I'm there to play a game and of course I'm there to win if I can.   You focus on the game itself.  You give the errant ball back so you can move on to the next serve.   And how could I have missed that shot in the first place?   All those things would crowd out "thank you" and the only smile you might see would be after the match.

I tend to do life the way I play sports.  Concentrating on things that need to get done can easily cause me to miss the opportunities to speak kind words to the people I encounter.   Instead, the "to the point" words dominate the conversations of the day as I manuever from one task to another.    The tasks get done but my relationships can become strained.  

I've decided I need to redefine my idea of success.   I'm starting here:  A task completed without showing kindness to others is a failure.