Resiliency through Random Acts of Kindness

Holiday time/ the end of the year can be STRESSFUL. Whether it is thinking of the perfect gift, finding the money to buy said perfect gift, figuring out how to exist within a family who may judge or not support you, facing your first holiday after losing a parent, cramming for finals or final papers, trying to scrape enough money together to pay for a flight home, or dreading the politics conversations that inevitably will happen over the holiday dinner table, that stress is real, even for the happiest of people. Now that we have acknowledged this, what can we as humans do you move past this, and become more resilient? Simple. Engage in random acts of kindness. Buy that person behind you in line at your local coffee shop their cup of coffee. It does something for you and them; I know it because I did it this morning. The smile we exchanged was worth those few extra dollars. 

I recently came across an article that shared that engaging in kindness may improve resiliency by promoting feelings of happiness and peace, which makes complete sense. Kindness may foster community and sharing of resources, which ensures resiliency and survival. In fact, Dr. Talya Steinberg (2012) shares that even just thinking and talking about kindness can improve happiness and peace. 

So next time you have the opportunity to do something kind for another human, commit to doing just that. And the best part, it doesn’t have to cost any money, so how about that for some free advice! 

To read more about this, visit the article that inspired this post: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-the-face-adversity/201211/practicing-acts-kindness