Keeping Up With All the Kindness
A Month of Love
Join the February Loving-Kindness Challenge this month in honor of International Random Acts of Kindness day! February is typically a month where we focus on how we can acknowledge a special person in our life. Valentine’s Day has been celebrated around the world for hundreds of years as a day to celebrate the love shared between two people.
But why stop there? All too often, for Valentine’s Day, we think only about romantic love, but the entire world could use some loving-kindness right now. Why not take it a step further and allow ourselves to be inspired by others’ acts of kindness?
Starting with Yourself
To be able to genuinely acknowledge others with acts of loving-kindness, we must start with ourselves. Creating ways to love yourself is not selfish. It may be challenging at first, to focus so deeply on yourself when others could be needing you. But we can only attend to others if we have taken care of our own needs, then and only then will we have the strength and understanding to really provide support to another person.
Simple acts of loving-kindness remind you of your importance. When we travel on a plane, they always ask us to put on our own oxygen masks first and then attend to others. This is the same with self-care. Take time to honor yourself.
What motivates you to do an act of loving kindness?
Once you have taken time to honor yourself, you are more empathetic and understanding to others. We begin to see more ways to offer our help to others and opportunities to create more positivity in the world. Seeing others’ acts of kindness often inspires onlookers to follow, finding their own ways to extend loving-kindness to others. If you knew that your act of kindness would lead to someone else performing their own act, would that help encourage you to do it?
While we can never know the full impact of our random acts of loving-kindness, we can confidently know that we have created more positivity for others. Even the smallest gestures have the power to impact and inspire others. Start by holding the door for a stranger with a smile. Or see if a colleague could use some help at work. By looking for opportunities to be kind, you’ll support your own mental wellness along with the kindness created by whatever good deeds you end up performing.
Join the Challenge
In honor of International Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17th, I wanted to challenge myself and invite you to join me. This month, I will be sharing ideas for easy, simple acts to show strangers, colleagues, friends, and yourself loving-kindness. With each act, we can extend the feelings of loving-kindness that February brings beyond just our personal relationships.
Challenge yourself this month to do one act of loving-kindness every day. Carve out time to treat yourself to some selfcare. Then, keep the momentum going and extend kindness to a stranger or colleague. No matter how small, all acts of loving-kindness create positivity in the world and have the chance to inspire others to do the same.
20 Days of Loving Kindness:
Here are twenty quick, easy ways to participate in the February Loving-Kindness Challenge. Make sure to use the hashtag #KindnessExperience if you share how you participate online. The incredible Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has put together some amazing resources for school, work, and home so anyone ca participate in this simple experiment for individuals to experience the scientific benefits of kindness. Check out their kindness ideas, calendars, and new kindness poster to help brainstorm ideas.
Day 1: Hold the door for someone and smile.
Day 2: Give someone an extra tip today with a big thank you.
Day 3: If someone has recently helped you out, publicly acknowledge them on social media.
Day 4: Lighten someone’s load today.
Day 5: Invite someone who might need some extra companionship to join you for dinner or a movie.
Day 6: Leave a positive online review of your favorite local restaurant.
Day 7: Instead of buying flowers or a gift for Valentines’ day next week, consider making a donation to a charity in honor of your sweetie.
Day 8: Gather some items to donate to a local charity this weekend.
Day 9: Share an uplifting story today on social media.
Day 10: Reach out to a widow/widower with a surprise for Valentine’s day.
Day 11: Call someone you’ve been thinking about but haven’t spoken to in a while. Reconnect.
Day 12: Acknowledge yourself with a kind action.
Day 13: Participate in the first annual #KindnessExperience on Random Acts of Kindness Day, February 17, 2023!
Day 14: Let someone go before you today, whether at the grocery store or in the car.
Day 15: Write an unsolicited LinkedIn recommendation for a colleague from your current organization or a previous role.
Day 16: Offer your assistance to someone who needs it today.
Day 17: Buy yourself a coffee, flowers, or some other treat today.
Day 18: “Pay it forward” to the person behind you in line.
Day 19: Compliment someone you don’t personally know today.
Day 20: Find somewhere to volunteer a few hours this year.
Keep up with the challenge on social media! Follow @kindnessfromcohen on Instagram to see the full February Loving-Kindness Challenge campaign.