“Kindness is the language which the dead can hear, and the blind can see.”
Mark Twain
Doing small acts of kindness for others can make our lives better too. The Science of Well-Being course explores the idea of how we can cultivate a weekly kindness practice. Along with sharing with us what actually makes us happy.
Pick a day this week and perform five acts of kindness in one day. Doing five acts of kindness in one day increases happiness more than spreading it out over the course of the week the studies show. Make one super kindness day!
How Being Kind Helps You Too
Obviously, when you are doing genuinely nice things for others, they gain the benefit of your good deeds. Luckily, doing small acts of kindness actually helps yourself too!
1. Reduced Anxiety
A study on Happiness from the University of British Columbia found that, “social anxiety is associated with low positive affect (PA), a factor that can significantly affect psychological well-being and adaptive functioning.”
A way to relieve your anxiety is to actually help others because it gives you feelings of joy, interest, empathy, and alertness. When you are feeling these positive emotions, you state of anxiety lowers as your positive affect increases!
2. Kindness Helps Your Heart
Kindness releases the hormone oxytocin. According to Dr. David Hamilton, “oxytocin causes the release of a chemical called nitric oxide in blood vessels, which dilates (expands) the blood vessels. This reduces blood pressure and therefore oxytocin is known as a ‘cardioprotective’ hormone because it protects the heart (by lowering blood pressure).”
Being kind actually helps you physically too!
3. Kindness Prevents Illness
Inflammation in the body is associated with all sorts of health problems such as diabetes, cancer, chronic pain, obesity, and migraines. According to a study of adults aged 57-85, “volunteering manifested the strongest association with lower levels of inflammation.” Oxytocin also reduces inflammation, and even little acts of kindness can trigger oxytocin’s release.
Being kind keeps you young too!
Small Acts of Kindness You Can Try!
Coming up with ideas every week can sometimes be a challenge, use some of the examples below to supplement your ideas of how you can do your super day of kindness.
- Paying for someone’s morning coffee
- Giving a stranger a genuine compliment
- Do something for some animals
- Write a thank you letter to someone you appreciate
- Hold the door for people
- Ask a co-worker or person about their interests
- Reply to a post you enjoy
- Reach out to a friend you haven’t talked to in years
- Make a meal or dessert for someone
- Write a positive review for a business you enjoy
- Give to a cause you believe in
- Wheel up a neighbor’s trash can
- Visit a hospice care
- Leave a generous tip
- Help out at a local charity
Main Take-Aways
There are countless ways to show kindness to others. We all can do our part this week and have one kindness day each this week.
Action item
What day will be your kindness day? What obstacles might you encounter in your acts of kindness? Plan for them and be ready for your day of small acts of kindness!
