Random Acts of Kindness – Bless everyone around you and watch what happens to your life!
BY KAREN COOPER
What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
– Jane Goodall
Why does performing a random act of kindness increase your level of happiness? It’s simply because being kind fosters gratitude. The kinder you are, the more grateful you become. It’s the most amazing cause and effect. When you choose to be kind to others, that feeling emphasizes your own good fortune. Kindness encourages empathy and compassion, which then leads to a feeling of harmony with those around you. Sounds pretty good!
If you regularly perform random acts of kindness, it’s likely that you will continue. Happy people are inclined to be more generous and generosity makes them happier. Research has shown that being kind is beneficial in many ways including the following:
- Helping you feel calmer and less depressed by causing your body to release serotonin
- Decreasing pain by encouraging your body to generate endorphins
- Increasing feelings of strength and self-worth
- Lowering blood pressure and improving heart function
- Increasing self-esteem and optimism
Here are some Random Acts of Kindness you can carry out anytime:
- Make a meal and take it to someone who is sick or too busy to cook for themselves.
- Send a thank you note (or email) to your child’s teacher thanking them for their hard work and support during virtual learning.
- Pay for someone’s order at the grocery store or drive-thru.
- Call someone you love just to tell them how much they mean to you.
- Hold the door open for someone.
- Walk a neighbor’s dog or invite him/her to the dog park.
- Buy a meal for someone in need.
- Tell a friend how wonderful their children are.
- Compliment a co-worker’s outfit or anything that makes him/her feel special.
- Donate canned goods to a local food pantry.
- Send a letter to someone you miss who would really love to receive it.
- Help out a neighbor with yardwork….one who could really use the help.
- Donate old clothes, household items or toys to a favorite charity.
- Volunteer at a mission or soup kitchen.
- Offer to help a frazzled mom or dad with cranky kids or just tell them to “hang in there.”
- Write a great review on a restaurant or store you love.
- Buy some pre-wrapped treats and deliver them to local healthcare workers (call ahead first to be sure this is allowed).
- Leave a note in your mailbox thanking your mail carrier for all their hard work.
- Give a big smile to people you see throughout the day.
- Put sticky notes with encouraging messages where your family members will find them.
- Leave a gift basket on a neighbor’s doorstep.
- Forgive someone even if they were wrong.
- Donate blood.
- Give a big hug to everyone in your immediate family or in your household.
- Write a note to someone you care about listing the top 10 reasons you love them.
- Write an encouraging note with sidewalk chalk outside a location that will brighten the day of people who see it.
- Send a care package of favorite items to someone you miss.
- Pick up trash around your neighborhood or a nearby park.
- Leave some spare change in a vending machine so the next person who uses it can get a treat free of charge.
- Donate or volunteer for a charity you care about.
The last year has been especially difficult for most of us and it is human nature to want to help make the lives of others a little easier and more cheerful. Even if we can’t solve the really difficult problems in the lives of those around us, small acts of kindness and showing that we care can make a big difference in a person’s life.
Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.
- Eric Hoffer
