Written by Sarah Reza
It may seem strange to think about kindness as a social concept — after all, aren’t we as humans just hardwired to be nice to others and want the same? With World Kindness Day happening late last year, it struck me how off it was that we should even need an official reminder to think actively about being kind. And there is a difference, yes, between being ‘nice’ and ‘kind’. As easy as this sounds, we also know what being kind takes effort and sometimes it can be tough, especially if you’ve got to be kinder to yourself. Doing things for others without the expectation of receiving in return is a great way to show genuine kindness to others whether it’s a person, animal or your environment. Acts of service can be wonderful ways to show care and love, and have a return effect on the giver by initiating a chemical response of dopamine. Yup, that’s right. We’re biologically hardwired as social creatures and the brain likes to reward us for helping others. In fact, the brain likes to reward us even when those acts of service don’t involve other people. Doing good deeds like community service, helping clean litter up, or helping stray animals can also give you the same feel-good factor as other happiness-boosting activities like exercising.
Acts of service you can do for yourself or others can look like:
- Calling a friend you’ve not caught up with in a while, or check in with someone you think might be struggling.
- Let the compliments fly. Challenge yourself to only send out compliments all day to people around you (random or not!), or show some love to yourself.
- Give way in traffic to others or look out for other road users.
- Be an active listener in your conversations with people.
- Feed or adopt a stray animal that needs your help.
- Buy secondhand or thrift items.
- Practice saying ‘thank you’ every time someone does something for you.
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