HOW TO ENCOURAGE KINDNESS
You can encourage kindness through:
Modeling acts of kindness
Giving responsibilities and opportunities
Inspiring positive actions toward others
Teaching empathy and compassion
Notice the list does not include rewards. Perhaps that speaks to the better angels of nature. People are good for goodness’s sake, not for applause.
WHAT GET IN A WAY OF KINDNESS?
You may encounter many stumbling blocks on the path of showing kindness to others. For example:
External rewards
Self-interest (you can’t give to get)
Risk to self or others (it requires bravery to risk being rebuffed)
Lack of confidence
Not being aware of others; too busy and distracted
Negative emotions
Hunger
Fatigue
Any one of these complications may stop you (even temporarily) from receiving or showing kindness. Being aware of your circumstances is the first way to counteract these (hopefully temporary) stops on your kindness journey.
KINDNESS TO ONESELF
When kindness is authentically given and received it lifts the well-being and mood of everyone involved. There’s no downside or side effect of positive feelings. Kindness is good. It’s important to be kind to yourself first. Whatever you can manage today is good enough. Some people feel that the lockdown is giving them the time and chance to learn new skills or try new things. That may be you, and if so, enjoy and celebrate that. If this isn’t you, try not to beat yourself up about what you see others doing. If things are hard right now, try and find some small things to celebrate each day. Getting up and washing your hair can be just as much of an achievement as someone else posting about a 5k run on Instagram. Try to tune out the voice of judgement and comparison and tune in to the voice that says you are enough.
Be kind to yourself; Prioritise some “me” time, so you can relax and reflect on how you’re feeling and how your day or week has been so far. Turn off from your social media channels for a day, or even a week. Treat yourself to something small, such as buying or planting some flowers. Do something you enjoy, like listening to a favourite song or dancing in your kitchen. Spend some time in nature, which is good for our mental health.
RECIEVING KINDNESS
If you are like most people, you probably find it easier to be kind than to be on the receiving act of a kind act. When someone compliments you, do you reply, “it was nothing” or “no problem” ? Many people have adopted this learned behavior as a way of being humble, but what this actually does is constrict the flow of the energy of giving and receiving. If someone gives you a compliment, not receiving it stops its power for both the giver and the receiver. Sometimes receiving kindness and compassion can feel threatening, as though the one being kind is somehow superior. If you notice you have trouble receiving gifts, compliments, or acts of generosity and love, spend some time reflecting on why. Who taught you to behave this way? Is it serving you and those around you?
Conclusively, If there was one magical cure for many of the woes of the world, it might be the power of kindness. When the epidemic of stress, anxiety, and depression threatens to overload the medical system and impede progress toward a greater sense of common humanity, and when the world can seem more divided than united, giving and receiving kindness is a way to connect at a deeper level. Kindness is a means of acknowledging that the needs of others are worthy of attention and that actions on their behalf are meaningful. Now is the time to re-imagine a kinder society that better protects our mental health. Mother Teresa obeseverd that “A life not lived for others is not a life.”
If you have a story of how a kind act made a difference in your life, please share it in the comments below. You never know how your story might impact the life of another.
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Female Guide 