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What does it hurt to be kind? According to Leon Logothetis, it doesn’t hurt at all. In fact, kindness should be one of the guiding principles of our lives.
Once a disconnected, depressed London broker, Logothetis made a radical change, giving up his safety net for a life on the road. He has spent the last decade traversing the world, sustained by the kindness of strangers. He inspires kindness and hope in others through his motivational speaking engagements, his show, “The Kindness Diaries,” and his new interactive journal, “Go Be Brave.” Logothetis shares his story with Corey Powell on this week’s Motivational Mondays podcast, a story that illustrates the necessity of kindness in our world and that models how all of us can live more compassionate, connected lives.
Suffer in Silence No More
Anxious and depressed in his life as a London broker, Logothetis realized he had to make a change. He could no longer suffer in silence and trudge along in his situation. Recalling the moment he chose to speak up at 15 years old to admit to his mother that he was being bullied, Logothetis realized that we are brave when “we speak our truth, when we share our pain, when we stand in our power.” He shares his journey from broker to world traveler with Powell, as well as the ways this moment of bravery as a 15-year-old inspired his approach to life and his book.
As a result of these experiences, Logothetis went out into the world with bravery, sharing his story and inviting those he met around the world to do the same. His life since then has illustrated the importance of both bravery and courage, which he differentiates by defining bravery as the act of speaking our truth and courage as taking action.
The backbone of all these values, however, is kindness.
Curing Loneliness Through Kindness
Kindness has become a pillar value for Logothetis, guiding his life and his interactions with others. When he quit his job as a broker and traveled the world, he relied only on the kindness of others, which helped him see how kindness can change the world.
With isolation and loneliness quickly becoming an epidemic in today’s society, Logethetis offers kindness as a solution. To him, the definition of kindness is “to help someone feel less alone.” He explains how being kind does not mean letting others walk all over you, and he explains the difference between both ways of existing. He also knows that kindness will not fix everything (there will always be people who mistreat others), but he champions kindness because “we as individuals can commit to how we show up. And if we commit to showing up with love and we commit to showing up with kindness and we commit to showing up with a goodness flowing through us, more often than not, that is reciprocated.”
Logothetis learned all this through his experiences and his travels, and he shares the ways he built his book, “Go Be Brave,” to provide moments of experiential learning for readers. Promoting experience as the best teacher of compassion and empathy, he hopes his book can teach others how to be more compassionate … including learning how to handle anger.
Generating Goodness From Anger
There are, unfortunately, many things to make us angry, whether in our interpersonal interactions, politics, or the suffering we know exists all over the world. Anger is healthy, psychologists tell us, but how do we express our anger while living according to the virtue of kindness?
Logothetis encourages us to find ways of expressing anger “safely,” meaning finding ways to get the anger out without harming anyone. This may include yelling in the shower or journaling - anything that helps you to come away from the experience and then connect, whether with a person who angered you, the news, or yourself.
With this guidance and more, Logothetis teaches us how to incorporate kindness into our lives, creating both inner and outer change through this seemingly small change in our perception and our behavior. Tune in to learn more about his story and the ways kindness can generate positive results for both leaders and individuals.
Listen to this episode to learn about...
[0:50] The inspiration behind Logothetis’ book, “Go Be Brave”
[3:13] Logothetis’ breaking point - and the beginning of his new life
[7:00] Courage vs. bravery
[8:39] Kindness as a cure for isolation
[10:34] The difference between kindness and letting people take advantage
[13:20] Civil discourse through empathy
[16:26] A lesson in bravery from a Navy Seal
[19:00] Travel and experiential learning
[21:19] Using anger for good
Listen to the bonus episode to learn about Logothetis’ experience in India and his one key takeaway from “Go Be Brave.”
Resources:
- Experience Logothetis’ adventures vicariously through “The Kindness Diaries” on Discovery+!
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Learn more about his travels, publications, and upcoming events on Logothetis’ site.
- Get a regular dose of kindness in your social feed by following Logothetis on Instagram!
- Begin your journey toward bravery with “Go Be Brave.”
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