Let’s Celebrate World Kindness Day!
Did you know World Kindness Day is coming up on November 13th? This special day is a great day to perform a few random acts of kindness.
World Kindness Day is an international holiday and was originally started in 1998. It’s a reminder to us all to prioritise kindness for the people you know and love, for complete strangers and also for ourselves.
Kindness is about being generous, considerate and friendly. Many people also relate kindness to affection, warmth, and gentleness. It’s within us all to transform someone’s day and what better way than with a random act of kindness to celebrate this beautiful holiday?
Read on to explore three things you may not know about kindness and find some ideas you can use for your random acts of kindness.
Be Kind to One Another
Kindness has the ability to provide many benefits to both the person receiving the kindness and the person being kind. When we are kind to one another, it has a lasting impact.
A study titled, “Do unto others or treat yourself?” looked at the effects of kindness based on performing acts of kindness for others or for yourself. This study set out to measure the levels of psychological flourishing including social well-being and emotional well-being of the participants.
When the study was over, researchers had found those performing acts of kindness for others achieved higher levels of psychological flourishing than the group enjoying acts of kindness for themselves. It showed, when we are kind to one another, we actually achieve a higher level of positive emotions compared to being kind to ourselves.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you should avoid being kind to yourself. It just means celebrating World Kindness Day should be about being kind to one another and that kindness should become a part of our everyday life.
Another study published on Sciencemag.org looked at how spending money on other people promotes happiness. The study provides each participant with $5 or with $20. The participants had to spend the money on themselves or on someone else before 5pm the same day.
When the evening came, the researchers spoke with each participant to find out how happy they felt. The study showed those willing to spend the money on others were happier than those spending it on themselves.
Both of these studies show how important it is for us to be kind to one another. We achieve greater happiness when we help others and when we show other people kindness.
Lesson #1: Be kind to one another if you want to be happier.
Be Kind to Yourself
Yes, being kind to others is very important, but we should also be kind to ourselves. Oscar Wilde wrote, “To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.” While we may not generally view romance in this light, being kind to yourself does still have benefits.
Many studies have linked self-compassion to happiness and overall well-being. A study from the University of Texas at Austin showed when we are kind to ourselves; we experience benefits, such as:
- Better life satisfaction
- Greater interconnectedness with other people
- More curiosity
- Higher levels of happiness
- A more optimistic outlook
- Higher levels of emotional intelligence
- Greater wisdom
When you are kind to yourself, you also experience less anxiety, fear, depression, and self-criticism, according to the same study.
Being kind to yourself can also provide more emotional resilience. When we are kind to ourselves, we build up self-worth, which doesn’t rely on our successes or the words and actions of others to build up our self-esteem.
Lesson #2: Be kind to yourself to boost your mental wellbeing.
Another benefit of kindness is that it releases serotonin, an important hormone helping us feel good. Serotonin is released when we are kind to others or kind to ourselves. When you do something nice for another person, you likely feel better about yourself. This might seem random, but it’s not random at all.
The pleasure centers in our brain become active when we are kind to others. Kindness leads to a boost in serotonin. An article from Berkeley.edu refers to this as the “Helper’s High.”
This “high” is often felt when volunteering or even when helping someone carry a heavy item up the stairs or into their home. When you help out without expecting anything in return, it leads to an increase in serotonin levels, which makes you feel good about yourself.
The release of serotonin can also help to ease anxiety, reduce stress, lead to a longer lifespan, and even lower your blood pressure. Being kind to one another and to yourself can lead to more happiness within your life and that’s not an accident.
Lesson #3: Be kind to yourself to boost your happiness.
15 Ideas for Activities to do This World Kindness Day
So how do you perform a random act of kindness? Well the good news is that it’s so simple you’d almost have to try not to do some of these.
- Spend the entire day spreading kindness and positivity on social media.
- Leave a larger than normal tip if you plan to eat at a restaurant (you can even include a kind note).
- Use post-it notes to provide kind messages for your spouse, children, or others to discover throughout the day.
- Randomly send flowers or another gift to a friend or family member.
- Write a hand-written note to someone you haven’t spoken with in a while or send a nice card.
- Dedicated some of your time to clean up a park or your neighborhood.
- Pay for someone’s order when going through a drive-thru or at the coffee shop.
- Help your children write positive messages with sidewalk chalk on the sidewalks.
- Volunteer at a local charity for the day.
- Call your mom or dad, especially if you haven’t spoken to them in a while.
- Leave a thank you note on someone’s car for parking well.
- Hide a few kind notes in the pockets of clothing at a local shop.
- Provide compliments to everybody you speak to throughout the day.
- Write thank-you notes to your friends to thank them for their friendship.
- Adopt a pet.
There are many great ways to celebrate World Kindness Day. Whether you want to involve your children or celebrate on your own, doing kind things for others and for yourself can lead to more happiness in your life.