‘Tis the season of giving. And it’s also the season of rushing. Many people are trying to get everything done, including buying thoughtful gifts for loved ones.
Here’s a way to change that vibe.
Random acts of kindness are unplanned good deeds that are extended without the expectation of anything in return. When you offer a random act of kindness, you feel good and the recipient feels good. It’s the classic “win-win” scenario.
Most of us have the ability to give small, ordinary things. When you offer a kindness to someone, you feel good, and that good feeling even helps to put your challenges into better perspective. Consider these ideas as starters:
+Thank the people you usually forget to thank.
+ Offer a coveted parking space to the other driver who was a split second too late.
+Let someone go ahead of you at the checkout line.
+ Offer your seat on a bus to someone who looks especially weary.
+ Compliment someone who is always grumpy.
+ Publicly thank your staff for their hard work this year by highlighting one special contribution by each person.
+ Give encouragement to someone who really needs it.
You can come up with dozens of ideas like this, but ideas are cheap if they’re not acted on. Offer acts of kindness, not just during the holiday season but all year round.
“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?”
– Jean Jacques Rousseau
Header image by Mikhail Nilov/Pexels.
