iExam 2

            Tomorrow I plan on carrying out this assignment. I guess you could call it an experiment, since I’m going to be testing my hypothesis. Only being kind, useful, and true makes me think of someone biting their tongue and not saying what they truly think. But I bet the responses will be equally as positive as my comments. I am interested to find out whether I will be able to remember this assignment throughout the whole course of the day, or if I will eventually forget. Maybe once I am in the routine of only being kind, useful, and true, then I will remain that way as if it’s a habit.

            After a full day of being (trying) kind, useful, and true- at first I felt myself sticking to just being kind. Focusing on the word kind seemed a bit more straightforward, like complimenting friends, or holding the door for strangers more consistently, or anything that was relatively nice. But then I felt like I was not actually doing anything out of the ordinary, and was not fulfilling this assignment. So, I worked on being more useful and true. To me, being useful is solving things, or participating more in classes. Today, being Friday, I tried to talk more frequently in class, so I felt useful. But then classes ended and I needed a new way to be useful, so I looked up “useful” in a thesaurus and “productive” stood out to me. Productivity, to me, is doing everything you have to do, and then doing more. Just doing “you daily chores” is living, but going beyond is being productive. After classes I went to the barn to ride my horse. I am my best productive self at the barn, because it is my passion and there is always something to do at the barn! Whether it’s sweeping the aisles, cleaning my tack, or bathing my horse, there is a way to be productive. When I was at the barn I decided to do everything I could think of doing, simultaneously being kind. Talking with everyone at the barn in a happy, productive manner lightened my mood. Getting away from school and going to the barn always de-stresses me, but continuing to go out of my way to be extra kind and productive made me feel better about myself. I could tell my kindness was rubbing off on others, which just continued to make me happier.

            Earlier, not knowing exactly what “true” meant, I decided to look up other words that described it. I found genuine and authentic. Being authentic, to me, is being your best and truest self. When I was at the barn, I did not feel disingenuous while chatting with everyone. Since at this point of the day, I was in such a good mood the kindness was coming from a very genuine place.

            At first this self-awareness was daunting. I felt like I was forcing myself to act a certain way. But as the day went by it was second nature to be my best self. Days like today I am the most productive, happy person I could be. Taking the time to make other people feel good about them makes you feel better about yourself. And this consistent positivity translated to my productivity level in a very effective way. I think everyone has the time to be kind, useful, and true, because they all connect and make you become such an authentic person. When you are happy and productive, this vibe just radiates off of you. I am not realizing this just from today, but overall I have noticed that when my roommates decide to be extra hard working and cheerful, it rubs off on me and I want to be like them. Humans are social creatures and people tend to act like those around them. So if everyone took the time to be kind, useful, and true, everyone would eventually be a bit happier and productive. I also believe productivity roots from happiness, and happiness roots from productivity. When you are happy you actually have the drive to be energetic and constructive. And when you produce something you are proud of, it makes you happy and feel good about yourself.