Spread a Little Kindness

Kindness – according to Wikipedia - is “a type of behaviour marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistant or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return”.

And whether or not you agree in altruism (the act of true selflessness for the benefit of others), it is hard to deny that kindness is a positive act that seeks to benefit everyone involved.

So, how can you spread kindness? Here are five ways you might want to try.

1. If you have a nice thought – say it.

Very often, we have a lovely thought about someone but we keep it to ourselves. We should share genuine compliments and make everyone feel valued. I once told a lady in a shop that she had a lovely dress on. She did. We were in a supermarket, and she had a bright striped dress on and looked lovely. I guess she was about 50 years old. Maybe she was going to a wedding or something. I’m not sure. And I never found out. But I hope my compliment made her feel good. I hope that it made her feel special. I know it made me feel good – and that is an added bonus of being kind. 😊

2. Do something for someone else, every day.

More if you can. The person could be a stranger, or they could be your mother. That’s up to you. You may open the door for someone, offer to carry their shopping, make a cup of tea (without being asked!) or something similar. Just a small gesture of kindness. A quote that lived on the wall of the music room when I was at school, was, “The smallest, good deed is greater than the grandest good intention.” and I think this rings true here. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture, just a small token of kindness. 😊

3. Smile.

Spike Milligan said in his poem that a smile is infectious, and I think he is most definitely right. A lady in my office is always smiling, she smiles when she first says hello in the morning, when she walks past you in the corridor and sometimes when she’s just at her desk, she smiles to herself. The great thing is that it makes me feel better. I smile back and that makes me feel better again. Maybe I even pass that infectious smile on again, making more people feel better too. Do you see? A smile can go a long, long way. 😊

4. Show genuine interest in other people’s lives.

Listening when others talk and showing a genuine interest in what they say leads the other person to feel valued and important.

My husband is particularly good at this one. When he meets up with someone, an old friend, a business client or a friend of friend, he always asks them questions and listens to the answers without distraction and without the need to respond with his own story or opinion. What’s more, he remembers at least one small fact about them and asks them about it when they meet again – maybe their job role or he enquires about their children or pets. 😊

5. Stay connected.

There are two things at play here. The first is staying connected to yourself – practising ‘being in the moment’ and mindfulness can help with this. Understanding yourself, your actions and your intentions can also be helpful in supporting your connection.

The second is your connection with others. And, full disclosure, I find this one really hard as I get anxious about getting a response (or rather, not getting a response). But, consider this, connecting with someone shows that you care. It shows that you want to find out about them and what they’re up to. It shows that you have thought about them. It shows kindness. And that makes the person we’ve connected with feel love and belonging.

This is without even considering the positive effect it has on our own well-being when we connect with others. And again, it is back to the majority of these ideas, that showing kindness benefits the giver as much as the receiver – which can only be a good thing 😊

If you are an adult reading this, then all these things should be modelled for children. We cannot expect a child to show kindness without being shown what kindness looks like.

Kindness is the essence of Kinder Education. It’s even in the name! Kinder Education aims to provide inclusive online tuition for all children. As well as learning some content, children will learn what learning types and strategies are best for them as they develop a love of learning.

Finally, I wanted to share something I read about once upon a time. It goes like this:

“I/you may not always be the smartest person in the room, I/you may not be the prettiest or even the most interesting, but I/you can always try to be the kindest.”

I often think about this quote, and we have the power to be the kindest person in every room, right here, right now. Gosh, if everyone was striving for that accolade, what a lovely world we would live in.

😊 😊 😊