Making random acts of kindness intentional

Next month we globally celebrate World Kindness Day. The day itself is a great cause, but why do we only limit to celebrating this on one single day of the year? Why do we not make appreciating moments of kindness when they appear in our daily lives as part of our norm? The thing is as humans, a lot of us spend so much time and energy focusing on the negatives that affect us. When a moment of kindness appears, it is lovely. It makes us feel good and we smile. But we soon forget about it as we go back to our usual daily lives. We never truly put the effort in to appreciate and reflect on those moments.

Think to yourself for a minute. When was the last time you actually remember experiencing one of those moments in your day? A lot of us would have a hard time answering this question because we don’t register those experiences when they happen. They are simply short, passing moments of delight in our busy days. They fade away as fast as they appeared.

What would happen if we started to be intentional about noticing these moments as they happened to us? Taking the time to absorb the act of kindness for what it is – a genuine moment of delight and uplifting joy that can stay with us throughout the rest of our day. Imagine taking the time to not only experience these moments yourself, but creating those moments for others. Intentionally expand our comfort zones at least once a day to make someone smile. It doesn’t have to be a huge gesture, but it could be something as simple as complimenting a friend or colleague. Reach out to a family member you know is going through a hard time. Make them intentional, not random acts of kindness.

We do things intentionally every day, but we don’t often think about them. We set our alarm, we wake up, shower, brush our teeth, travel to work or school. It’s routine. What if we added a moment of kindness to our visible routine? Waking up and thinking of a friend who you may know needs support and sending them a nice text message. Letting someone merge in front of you in peak traffic on your way to work with a smile instead of becoming frustrated because they cut you off.

With World Kindness Day approaching, think of challenging yourself to make acts of kindness intentional in your life. The norm. Build a new routine for yourself, filled with laughter, kindness and delight. Taking the time to recognise the moments as they happen, and savouring them.

“Kindness starts with one. One smile. One compliment. One cup of coffee. One conversation.”