by Emily Co, Associate Editor, Pop Sugar
Although it’s good to focus on your own happiness, it’s always beneficial to spread the joy around. In fact, studies have shown that people who perform kind acts see a boost in mood. World Kindness Day is a day to celebrate doing some nice things for people. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Send a postcard. Send a postcard to a friend or family member who doesn’t live in the same city, updating them on your life and telling them that you’re thinking of them.
- Give affirmation. Praise someone about a quality that they have that you really appreciate. Make sure it’s true for you or it won’t sound genuine!
- Help someone with their belongings. If you see an elderly person struggling with their belongings or even groceries, offer to help carry them. Perhaps you can help them load the bags into their car, or if you live in the same neighborhood, you can drop them off at their door.
- Aid someone with their job search. Take some time out of your day to help an unemployed friend or family member. Go through job listings and send her a list of suitable jobs, offer to edit her resume and to prep her for interviews.
- Clean your home. If you live with roommates or a partner, clean the home and do all the chores without any prompting.
Read on for more kind acts.
- Offer to babysit. If someone you know has been looking like they need some time off, offer to babysit their kids so they can take a night off to enjoy.
- Smile at a stranger in the elevator. Oftentimes, we have too many things on our minds, and we forget about the little courtesies. Smile and say “hi” to a stranger in the elevator because it’s nice to be acknowledged.
- Pick up litter. Be good to the environment and help to pick up litter while you’re walking home. You can pick it up with a plastic bag so you won’t dirty your hands.
- Introduce friends. If you have a friend who just moved to a new city, introduce her to friends you have in the same area. If you just met someone who just moved to your city, do your best to make her feel included by inviting her to some of your weekend activities.
- Forgive someone. If someone has wronged you in the past, try your best to forgive them and just let it go. Doing so is a nice thing to do for yourself and for those closest to you as well. Resenting someone may cause you to vent your frustrations to other people, which spreads your negativity.
