I don’t know about you, but at a time when there is so much continued upheaval in the world, and what seems to be constant negative news in the media, I personally am thankful for this month’s Action for Happiness Orgs’ – Altruistic August Calendar. It really is jam packed with daily actions to help you to set an intention to be kinder to others and yourself, and this is based on their first key of Giving: Doing things for others.
Giving and being kind to others does not need to be a ‘grand gesture’ or about giving money. Some other ways of giving can include: kind words, smiling, a thoughtful gesture, giving your time, sharing your skills and attention.
How many kind acts do people do on a daily basis without us realising it? I really like Vanessa King’s suggestion of playing ‘Kindness Eye Spy’ to see how many different types of actions you can identify – Already ideas are popping into my head of what I can do with this at work. Visualise what a difference it would make if we all joined together sharing acts of kindness around the world!
Another act of kindness Vanessa mentioned, and one that really resonates with me is to give someone the benefit of the doubt. I find it is so easy for the intention of a written message to be misinterpreted by the recipient – who knows what is going on in someone’s life that may impact on how the message is received?
This happened personally to me recently, and although at first I came close to saying enough is enough. With all the turmoil in Europe and around the world at present, the truth is as a close friend pointed out last night, I can only imagine the pressures they must be under both at work and their personal life, and how mentally drained they may be. It is for these reasons, that I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt, and respect them to know that they will be in contact when they are able to. What matters most is that they know that I care about their wellbeing, and value the time when we will meet again.
Vanessa’s Youtube clip has some other easy to do tips for being kind to yourself and others, including the importance of self-care
A couple of the calendars actions I will be using across the different areas of my life include:
💚 Send an uplifting message to someone you can’t be with
💚 Smile and be friendly to the people you see today
💚 Contact a friend to let them know you’re thinking of them
💚 Be kind online. Share positive and supportive comments
💚 If someone annoys you, be kind. Imagine how they may be feeling
💚 Forgive someone who hurt you in the past (maybe that person is you, and you need to not be so hard on yourself)
💚 Take an action to be kind to nature and care for our planet
Finally, I’ll admit I got teary when I watched this clip yesterday of a truly altruistic act of kindness where someone drew a racetrack on their driveway in chalk when they spotted a child using it to ride their bicycle. Best quote from the clip “I don’t know who is having more fun with this, he or I”
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