World Kindness Day was first launched in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement. This was brought to fruition in the hopes to celebrate each other and promote good deeds and random acts of kindness. The idea behind World Kindness Day is an important message we should always keep with us: highlight the good and focus on positivity.
On World Kindness Day, you can donate food, clothes, books—or pledge to commit an act of kindness (something you normally would not do). Here are a couple of nice things you can do this upcoming November 13th:
- Compliment the first three people you talk to
- Give extra-long hugs
- Write a love letter or poem
- Leave a generous tip
- Spread positivity on social media
- Pick up the tab for the person behind you in line—the café, grocery store or drive thru.
- Encourage others to spread the kindness
The impact a small act of kindness has on the recipient is indescribable. Not only will you effectively make another person feel good, you may be having an impact on those around you as well. It is said that anyone who witnesses a kind act may experience an improved mood and will more likely want to pay it forward.
Did you know that helping and being kind to others can help you with your own stress? It has been found that those who are kind to others on a regular basis produce 23% less cortisol, the stress hormone. Dartmouth also found that about half of the participants in their research study reported feeling stronger, more energetic and an increase in self-worth after helping others. Seems like it really does pay to be kind!
Now that we know just how important kindness is, make an effort to implement kind acts in your day to day. It is important to remember that an act of kindness does not have to be a grand gesture and can simply be a small favor or compliment. Here’s a few things you can do on the day to day:
- Thank your mailman for their hard work
- Pick up trash that you see
- Bake cookies for someone or a group of people
- Take time to listen to someone attentively, rather than monopolize the conversation
- Write a thank you note to someone
- Hold the door open
- Say hello and smile at random people
- Put positive sticky notes in places where others will see them and be uplifted
As you can see, some of these take some effort but most of them do not—meaning, there’s always time to be kind!
By: Hilary Paredes, Capital EAP MHC Intern