One of the easiest and most powerful ways to feel happier is for us to do something nice for someone else.
It’s also a great way to make the world better: Odds are, your kindness will radiate outward. Research shows that one person’s kindness has the ability to inspire acts of kindness in others, which may in turn influence the actions of even more people.
Take Action: Smile at someone in an elevator. Tip outrageously, and give a dollar to every homeless person you pass. Offer someone else your seat on the bus, or that great parking place you could easily sneak into. Say something kind to someone who’s having a hard day.
Join the Discussion: What other ideas do you have for small ways we can “commit to kindness”? Inspire others by leaving a comment below.
Pay the toll for the person behind you on the bridge.
For that rude person at work? Buy an extra muffin on your way to work and give it to him/her.
Let that person behind you in line at the supermarket go first.
Greet the clerk first and ask how he/she is doing today.
Fix a fruit basket for your neighbor.
When you go for a walk, always say, “Good morning” or “Good afternoon,” to someone coming toward you. And smile when you say it.
Ask a mom with a baby in a stroller how old the baby is. And tell the mom the baby is cute.
Offer a bottle of water to a mailperson or someone delivering a package.
I like the idea of being especially kind to the rude people in your life…
Buy the drink for the person behind you at the Starbucks drive through
I love all of these ideas. I just did something akin to buying someone coffee in a drive through, and it was pretty fun!
Monitor the tone of your voice. So much kindness can be conveyed with how we say things to those around us.
Another good example of a teeny tiny act of kindness that can make a HUGE difference.
Invisible support to your significant other – a moment of giving without their knowing you’ve given
Sometimes it is even more powerful when they don’t know you’ve done something!
Winter in Maine can be long and cold. I leave a thermos of hot chocolate and a bag of home baked cookies in my mail box for my mail carrier and my newspaper delivery person.
Also since I am co-raising my two grandchildren full time, I write monthly notes to their teachers thanking each one for nurturing my grandchildren.
Wow. That is very sweet!
Hi Christine! Great to see this posting of yours. More ideas can be found at https://kindliving.wordpress.com. And take a look at this 4 minute video of how we incorporate kindness and gratitude at the school I founded and direct – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdV07yd55IQ. –Andy Smallman
Yay! Hi Andy! Thank you for posting!
Every time I get one of your newsletters I think to myself, “Christine and I should do something together.” Some day perhaps?
yes!!
What do you suggest I do when my emphasis on happiness is actually serving as something akin to spiritual bypass? It’s something I personally struggle with and bear witness to over and over again in my life.
I’m not sure what you mean.
There are plenty of ways to be kinder but what’s harder is to truly cultivate an other focused mindset, especially if you are self-centered. Join this guy’s weekly journey to being kinder on his blog https://52actsofkindness.com. Now that is one to commit to kindness!
Thanks for sharing this link! I read the “about” section and this guy’s kindness practice (who hilariously calls himself “self-centered bastard) looks worth following!
After years of struggling with unhappiness, it has occurred to me to stop fighting the current and float down the river of kindness. It truly is a miracle within your own mind! When you reflect happiness, people will mirror the same. It helps turn other people’s bad days into good ones.
I agree: people mirror back your happiness and kindness. Emotions are pretty contagious!
One of the things I try to do is to teach people to fish, rather than just giving them a fish! So instead of just a nice word, also trying to help people learn to care for themselves better. So they have an ongoing benefit. Asking them questions about why they’re having a problem. Encouraging them to think about why they are having trouble sleeping. Why they’re feeling crabby. What might help them feel better…. Thanks so much for the great tips!
wonderful way to think about things!
When I’m having trouble relating to someone, I try to picture them as an infant — and somehow that kicks in my feelings of tenderness and kindness.
great idea!
Give unexpected compliments. See a mother treating her child well, say so. See someone who looks great, say so. Someone gives you the right away, thank them. Someone gives you their seat, thank them LOUDLY.
a great reminder that compliments are a simple, easy, and free source of kindness…
I was offered a seat on the bus today – which was sweet, even though I normally cycle to work so didn’t need to sit! But I am less persuaded by the idea of giving dollars to the homeless and tipping outrageously. I think we should leave the money part out of acts of kindness.
I think we all find acts of kindness that are right for us, but when I was a student scraping to get by, I felt especially grateful for the people who tipped outrageously…
Send a card (yes, by good old fashion US mail!) to someone you know who is having a difficult time or simply as a spontaneous act of kindness. I still keep hand written notes from my grandmother who has long since passed away. Her words of encouragement still touch me to this day. Notes and cards can be re read whereas emails are usually deleted.
Michelle Wyman
that is very sweet
I enjoy the challenge of surprising someone with kindness. If I am interacting with someone in a store or doctors offie that just seems to be in a crabby mood, I will go out of my way to find something kind to say, something I have observed or appreciated about them.nthey can’t help but be a little more kind to me min return 🙂
I also love the challenge of making a grumpy person smile.
One of the most powerful New Year’s resolutions I ever made was that if I had a good intention, I should immediately follow through with it before I had time to talk myself out of it. Something like “I should offer to make her a meal” or “I should send a condolence card” or “I should send money to that charity” went from being fleeting thoughts to concrete actions, however small.
I love that New Year’s resolution. Did it work? Are you more likely to do the stuff?
This morning my 11 year old daughter told me how she held an umbrella for her friend who is on crutches. . . it sparked a great conversation about acts of kindness for others! (Hi, Christine!). Debbie
This reminded me of a daily act of kindness my 8th grader performs when she arrives late to school. Rather than dashing in she helps a kid who is schlepping a French horn and all of his books by closing the trunk of the car, carrying the horn, opening the door withe her free hand, helping him store the horn in the music lockers, and THEN they both arrive at class together, late but very HAPPY!
Help a mom, even 5 minutes watching baby so she can, say, take a shower. Moms need friends to help.
You can say that again.
Hold a door open for someone. It’s old fashioned, but it does make people happy!
One way I found happiness, and I guess it was through a sort of kindness, was starting a journal club at my university for research technicians, like myself, who often seek chances to learn and explore more science, but don’t have an outlet. I’ve found that with every meeting, participants become more and more excited about researching topics and discussing them. It makes the work week more interesting and provides an informative and fun social network.
I think expanding what you think of as kind, as you’ve done here, is important.
Leave your change in a vending machine. Or even place your change in one as you pass by. This works especially well in payphones as the people who use payphones are generally not well off or are young children tryng their luck.
I find that I am at my most unkind when I’m driving. To counteract this I try to lett cars merge or slow down to allow cars to make left-hand turns onto busy streets.
When you come to a stop sign at the same time as someone else, wave them through first. And when they wave back, wave back at them AGAIN, and smile 🙂
Hug someone for at least 20 seconds.
surprise someone with a little unexpected present!
Cook or clean for someone who’s ill, or has a new baby, or is just plain exhausted!
Please remember the members of our own families who we so often overlook. Recognise those small things that smooth our paths and overlook the pressures that try to make us react in a negative way.
Children are especially important as their experience in life is so much smaller. Give them the opportunity to contribute and recognise them for it.
I suspect you’ve seen this already, but if you haven’t, you’ll love it:
https://mixmingleglow.com/blog/?p=1358
It’s about a woman whose birthday wish was to complete one random act of kindness for each year of her life. It’s wonderfully inspiring–in fact my friend celebrated her birthday on Monday just as this woman did. 🙂
I had NOT seen that – thank you so much for sharing! Very inspiring. Love how she included her kids.
When I dry my hands in a public bathroom with a roll-type dryer I use my dirty towel to advance the roll for the next person so they can grab a clean towel right away.
What a great idea!
Taking time to talk to neighbours, fellow bus pasengers, colleagues at worl. Empathizing with them and offering whatever realistic help we can deliver
Love people,hug people ,kiss people