Kindness means being helpful, generous and considerate without expecting anything in return. Being kind is simple and free, and I believe that, ultimately, I can change the world for the better.
Kindness In Action
Kindness in action is more than behavior; it's an attitude and practice as well.
Kindness For Mind
Our brain can be positively impacted by kindness from a physiological standpoint. An attitude of compassion boosts the brain’s serotonin and dopamine production, giving us an overall feeling of happiness, satisfaction and well-being that light up our reward centers. Our body can also release endorphins, its natural painkiller, by showing compassion.
The effects, however, are temporary, and one act of kindness won’t last us for several days or even a few hours and will have to be repeated.
Because of this, kindness is most effective as a practice we engage in every day, whether in the form of volunteering, paying for a stranger’s coffee order, bringing food to a homeless person or holding the door for someone.
Kindness For Body
Self-esteem, empathy, and compassion can be expanded by kindness, and our mood can also be boosted. Blood pressure and cortisol, a stress hormone, can be decreased, positively impacting our stress levels.
Giving to others in a balanced way also makes us healthier and live longer. Kindness can increase your connectivity with others, impacting loneliness, improving low mood, and enhancing relationships.
We can improve focus by looking for ways to show kindness, especially if we get anxious or stressed in certain social situations.
Kindness For Self
It’s not just about how we treat others – it’s about treating ourselves with the same behaviors and intentions. Verbally beating yourself up rarely works as a pep talk. Negative thinking and self-talk may even cause us to spiral into a vicious cycle of constantly feeling bad about ourselves.
Instead, can we create a compassionate practice for ourselves by cultivating kindness in our self-talk and offering gratitude for who we are and the good we do?
Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
Kindness In Action
Where focus goes, energy flows. Upon waking, ask, “How can I practice kindness today?” and then take time in the evening to reflect on the kindnesses performed to others and especially to oneself. This exercise creates a positive focus for each day and is fun to practice.
By being kind, we inspire others to be kind, and it has a ripple effect that spreads up to three degrees of separation from our friends to their friends, and so on. Pebbles create ripples when dropped in a pond, just as acts of kindness ripple outward, touching others’ lives and inspiring kindness wherever they go.
Kindness creates connections between people, and new relationships or existing ones are strengthened when we are kind to each other.
Start a kindness ripple today.
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Kirsti Out Wandering aspires to illustrate well-being in mind, body & spirit, giving unconditional love to self and others, and pursuing all of the wild possibilities life serves up while living full-time from a sprinter van.
