Nice gets you liked. Kind sometimes gets you disliked for a bit. Pick kind.

The two words point in different directions under pressure. Nice is about how the moment feels, which usually means telling people what they want to hear. Kind is about how things turn out, which sometimes means being the person who says the unwelcome thing and wearing the cold shoulder for a week. The second is harder and ages better.

Think of one place you have been nice when kind was needed: a friend’s plan, a sibling’s excuse, a thing you have not said at work. Say it once, privately, with care in the delivery. Then let them be annoyed for a few days.