One of my conversations today got me thinking about 'being kind' long term past the year of kindness. Kindness can cost nothing and I looked back on the year so far and these are some free ways to be kind. It surprised me that there are a lot:
- Praise a work colleague
- Make 'what I love about you stars'
- Say thank you
- Say sorry
- Talk to all checkout staff you meet
- Smile at everyone
- Hand out smile cards
- Let people out at junctions
- Promote a new business
- Compliment people
- Make people laugh
- Tell someone they look stunning
- Help someone broken down
- Be grateful
- Give feedback
- Put a hand written note in a library book
- Build someone up
- Do a friend/colleague a favour
- Send free Ecards
- Make a handmade card for a birthday
- Campaign online
- Call a friend you haven't spoken to in a while
- Be kind to yourself - read an inspiring book
- Be kind to yourself- eat well
- Be kind to yourself- do something you love
- Let someone know they have inspired you
- Check in on someone who is sick
- Become an organ donor
- Give blood
- Let someone get a bargain on ebay
- Give feedback to a restaurant manager and write a hand written note to a server
- Volunteer- whatever your interest
- Complete an online survey about a restaurant/bar
- Microvolunteer online
- Volunteer on Tomnod
- Lend a film
- Share a great recipe
- Donate old clothes/books
- Write a hand written letter
- Make a handmade card to say I love you
- Leave post it notes of appreciation
- Remember birthdays
- Give stuff away or loan stuff on Streetbank
- Help an elderly person
- Leave used books on benches/buses
- Go above and beyond at work
- Write a hand written note of thanks
- Play Free Rice or Genes in Space
- Sign a petition on Change.org
- Listen to someone struggling
- Make a new member of staff feel welcome
- Recognise that a colleague is stressed and give them support
- Put nice comments on Facebook and like people's pages
- Compliment other people's blogs
- Volunteer on a listening line
- Clean the house for your loved one
- Clean up for a friend after a party
- Print out free stuff for kids
- Tweet for a cause
- Hand out inspirational quotes
- Give away a coupon for a supermarket
- Make breakfast for your loved ones
- Make yourself a bucket list
- Give peer feedback at work
- Have a day of positivity
- Show you appreciate kindness shown to you
- Forgive someone and let things go
- Avoid negative chat
- Treat yourself- have a bath with candles
- Give a hug
- Pick stuff up in shops
- Help a friend prepare for an interview
- Compliment a stranger
- Hug your pets
- Do a favour for a struggling colleague
- Take the time to talk to someone who is homeless
- Practice patience
- Raise awareness of issues such as refugees
- Help promote businesses that make a difference
- Write a glowing review of a hotel on Tripadvisor
- Call home
- Thank someone for a lovely gift
- Give away something you love
- Say YES! It could bring good things to you and others
- Start a 365 day photo challenge to see there are so many things to inspire and be grateful for
- Play with children
- Teach a child a new game
- Have fun with whoever you are with
- Give up using the internet/computer for a day
- Shop locally
- Eat less meat
- Turn off the lights when they are not needed
- Avoid office negativity
- Be nice to someone difficult
- Do something big for someone whose behaviour you dislike
- Organise a challenge to raise money for a good cause
- Inspire others to take part in a challenge
- Encourage someone who feels like they can't do something
- Be daft
- Overcome a fear
- Take an interest in someone
- Complete an ice bucket challenge
- Be creative - it's good for you!
- Be a participant in a Kindness Club
- Help a friend out when they need you to
- Spread the word about someone doing good
- Volunteer in a kindness club/Offensive
I think this is such a good idea - I hope you don't mind I've shared this post to my facebook page and also printed it out. Most of the ideas are commonsense but it's amazing how many we forget to do. I'm halfway through drafting a blog post about giving away things v selling them and your idea about letting people have a bargain on ebay is a great idea (I often feel a failure if I haven't made a HUGE profit selling stuff which is usually the case). Don't know if you read the Independent yesterday but there was an article on the UN looking a redefining GDP as a measure of a country's success and looking at other things such as hours of sleep, access to washing machines and number of random acts of kindess!
ReplyDeleteOf course not - share away! I was talking to a friend about this the other day and we talked about all the free ways to be kind, then I looked back and seen I had done some already. I am going to add to the list at the end too. I will defo check out the independent that sounds a great article. Thanks for the heads up :)
ReplyDeleteGreat List :)
ReplyDelete