Tag Archives: Acts Of Kindness

Feel Better

Many times, we all wish we could wave a magic wand and feel better, happier, and more engaged in life. Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic wand, but we all can change our mood from bad to good by making the correct action choices. I can’t guarantee these actions will lead to a better feeling, but they might make you a happier life.

It doesn’t take any specialized training or skill to do this, other than the ability to take the actions at the right time. None of these things are beyond you or me, and that is an excellent thing. So find your way to the enjoyment of life and happiness on the path and follow one of these simple steps. The satisfaction you gain is going to be your own. These are methods to create a definite bounce in your life.

You’ve Got To Move It.

Exercise is important. Not only for the length of your life but the quality

jogging

of living, you are experiencing. We are all given a body at birth, and that mechanism functions best when it has regular exercise. If exercise isn’t a part of your program, that is when many issues with your body crop up. There is a long list of these illnesses, from heart disease to obesity; all of them are going to diminish your quality and enjoyment of life. The sad part is that a simple walk three or four times a week could enhance your physical and mental experience.

The choice to exercise gives immediate and long-term benefits for your body and significant short-term benefits to your mind, mood, and feelings. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins into your system, which leads you to feel good in the short term. There have been studies done where exercise has been proven to decrease feelings of depression over the long run. Your body is a mechanism that was made to move, so move, and you will see your mood enhanced today and for the long-term as well. Any exercise will do, so choose what resonates with you. Biking, jogging, lifting weights, aerobics classes, yoga, martial arts, hiking, or any other physical activity that gets the heart pumping will work. Get active and get happy.

Take Actions Big and Small

This is simple advice, but how many of us do what we love as a mood enhancer. Each of us has things we love to do. For me, it is writing about the things I think about; for others, it may be painting, cooking, tinkering with engines, or anything you connect with. When you do this thing, time will most likely disappear and seem to fly by—feeling low? Take some time to find these activities to carry you through.

Sometimes simple activities can provide us with a sense of happiness as well. Doing chores like making the bed, doing the dishes, or folding laundry can provide people with a sense of satisfaction and even joy. There is peace in doing these activities, a chance to focus your conscious mind on a task. This direct focus allows your subconscious mind to work on and give you answers to issues in your life. So don’t avoid the chores. Use them to make you happier, because believe it or not, they will.

Practice Intentional Kindness

Being kind to others leads to an increase in a positive mood—no doubt about that. When you are not feeling overly optimistic, it is usually because you are trapped in your negative thoughts about life. Something didn’t go right, or that might go wrong, and how will that affect me? Will I experience suffering? When you purposely seek out opportunities to be kind, you move your focus from inside to outside yourself. This change in direction brings a natural evolution in mood and attitude.

A straightforward practice I have heard about is the five acts of kindness. That means that you choose a day and must find at least five specific compassion points for others on that day. You don’t have to make them enormous, grand activities, but simple acts of kindness that enhance the lives of another human being. That act by itself will increase the joy in your life and, of course, make the experience much more enjoyable to you.

Retrain Your Mind

It is estimated that it takes about 21 days to establish a new habit. If you are mentally straying to the negative and want a favorable bounce, then start to notice things to be grateful for. I have heard that seeing and charting just three new things every day to be thankful for will allow you to change the way you think. Your mind will naturally start to look for the positive things and let the negative slide. This bounce can be immediate but will also become that habit after 21 days.

Imagine changing your whole outlook in just 21 days and seeing the world from an overall different perspective. Each moment we have in life is precious, and it is totally up to us if we spend it in anger and misery or joy and happiness.

So there are a few of the positive bounce methods that I have used to improve my outlook and attitude daily. I hope that you can use some of these methods too. Look at your mood and thoughts, and if they continually land on the negative, then it is time to make some changes.

“I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.” — Walt Disney

“Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.” — William James

“I’m a very positive thinker, and I think that is what helps me the most in difficult moments.” — Roger Federer

Give Them Kindness

kindness-22744798One of the simplest treasures we can give to others is the gift of kindness. It cost no money to be kind, and it takes no talent. In fact, all you have to possess to practice kindness is a willing heart to undertake the action and actually be kind. Many are the person I have met who could benefit from putting the well-being of another, even in a small way, before the seemingly never-ending drama of their lives.  Drop a pebble into the lake that is kind and watch the ripples flow from it. Who knows where they will eventually reach. Your conscious choice to show compassion for another may ripple throughout the world.

There is probably no better method for improving a person’s outlook on life than to experience a little kindness. All people deserve your kindness, and like most things in life, the more willingly this gift is given, the more easily it is received. Are you the kind one today? 

Kindness is Contagious

One of the great things to see is that one act of kindness provides happiness that will be shared with kindness is contagioussomeone else, one way or another. You can’t help it when someone is kind to you, and there is a feeling of warmth inside that you want to share with someone else. And most people do.  Some people practice random acts of kindness and bring light to the world. Some people are just kind to others all of the time. It must be a wonderful way to live.

We can only be responsible for our behavior and choices and the example we set for other people to follow. Take control of your actions today and implement kindness into each interaction that comes your way. You will be amazed at how much difference it will make in your life and, of course, the lives of others that you come in contact with during the day. What is the alternative? To be selfish and self-centered, only concerned with yourself and how everything affects you? Let those things go and accept the chance to change the world in one small positive way, and it can be done just by treating the people you happen to come in contact with today with a conscious choice to be kind.

Kindness Defeats Mean

It is important to practice kindness with those who are unkind. They absolutely need it most. To be moving through your life and to consciously be unkind to others, a person must have experienced some awful things. Kindness can break through the darkness and bring light into those spaces where kindness countsmean, desperation once resided.  Some of the people I have cared about the most were tremendously unkind and callous to me. It took a while, but I had to forgive them because their life must be a miserable experience if they could treat other people with that kind of cruelty.

A mean person who does not practice kindness has probably forgotten how it feels when someone takes the time to be kind to them. Once they experience that, there is a chance that they will develop a more positive outlook and perhaps practice kindness toward others. Again it is important to stress that you can only be responsible for your actions. Others are responsible for theirs. If they choose to be mean, hateful, spiteful, and unhappy, that is their choice. Your choice is not to treat them like their condition is permanent. Kill ’em with kindness. That is all you can do.

Be Grateful

Look at your life and find the positives. I know there are many dark things and days in life. But there is always something good and positive too.  Always. You have to find it, recognize it, and be grateful for it.  Gratitude and kindness walk hand in hand in life.  Even if many tough situations come your way, even though you feel defeated, sad, and worn out, do you want to live in a world where there is no kindness?  Be angry for a time but then find forgiveness for those who hurt you, gratitude for what you learned, and the positive things in your life.  And, of course, find a way to treat someone out there in your life with kindness.  It is up to you to determine what kind of world you and your loved ones inhabit.  If cold, harsh words and actions are all you have, your world will reflect a shiny, cold hardness right back at you.

Amazingly, the people who look for good tend to experience good. Kindness brings more kindness.  Experiment today. Do something simple, like hold a door for someone, or let them go in front of you in line at the store.  Watch how that small action affects people. They often, almost immediately, pass the gesture on to another in short order.  Consciously thinking of others and their well-being first. That is the essence of kindness, you matter, and I see your value.  Remember that when you are contemplating your behavior.

Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” – Jackie Chan

“Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” – Harold S. Kushner

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” – Princess Diana

“Because that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” – Andrew Iskander

“Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams.

 

 

Random Act of Kindness

The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar may be aw...
Random Act of Kindness

A Random Act of Kindness saves A Truly bad day

Some days are difficult to enjoy but a random act of kindness can change everything around for you.  It could be a forecast for the end of the world or the inconsiderate behavior of another that have you experiencing a bad day but it is definitely true that a random act of kindness can turn it all around.

It often happens when you need to be picked up the most that something or more directly someone takes it upon themselves to do something kind for you. It is our job to simply notice it and appreciate the effort!

Only a Cup of Coffee, Random act of Kindness

It was only a cup of coffee, but it could have been a large bar of gold because it was such a slap of niceness into an otherwise sour day.  I know I was feeling sorry for myself, and choosing to indulge myself in a river of self-pity. when out of nowhere someone randomly offered me a cup of coffee. A two dollar cup of kindness.

Today it seemed easy to get down, a cold, depressing rain has been falling all day that makes you want to just go back to bed and forget this day ever started.  But then one act of kindness allowed me to smile both outside and inside.  Suddenly the world didn’t  seem so bad and I less vengeful against it. Dare I say I started to feel happy.

A Random Act of Kindness can Change Everything

kindness inspires kindness
Remember this fact!

You never know what those random acts of kindness you perform will do for the world.  The small pebble of your kindness may ripple throughout the world for a long time indeed.  It may cause others to find their own hearts and give without looking for anything in return.

This just happened and I am able to focus a little more on the good things in my life.  Start to count my blessings, think about the positive things and know that the world isn’t a total cesspool of violence and uncaring people.

This simple touch of humanity really made my day. I am most often pretty positive and try to reciprocate in kind, but like everyone else, I have my days.  The act of purchasing my coffee on a cold and rainy afternoon restored my hope in all of humanity.

If you are in a position to do something kind for someone else today, then do it, even if it isn’t recognized it will make a difference to someone. Many small acts together can make a huge difference for somebody else.

My faith in humanity is restored and I am no longer mad at the world. A random act of kindness made sure of that.