10 Ways to Promote Kindness

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Happy Kindness Day!!!  I hope you are enjoying your day and have done a few kind things for people you love and maybe even a stranger or two.  Living the Farmhouse Lifestyle has really shown us how random acts of kindness make us feel good and make others smile.  Here are some ways that you can start showing kindness TODAY!!! 

For more on Living the Farmhouse Lifestyle visit- The Essentials Guide to Farmhouse Living

But before we get into the details here is:

How kindness helps your body-

Acts of kindness are proven to release happy hormones that boost your mood and overall well being. In fact, according to Cedars-Sanai, being kind is so effective that it is often used in some types of psychotherapy and to combat illnesses.

Why acts of kindness make us feel so good comes down to the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin helps our brain learn social skills and trust. In fact, mothers produce oxytocin when they breastfeed to help strengthen the bond with their babies.

It’s also the hormone that is released when we are physically intimate with someone we adore. That’s that love and starry-eyed feeling you get when you cuddle with your loved one. When people perform random acts of kindness, they also get a rush of oxytocin, research suggests.

All these feel-good emotions can do wonders for your body. Numerous studies show that feeling happy and giving back results in lower blood pressure, possibly reduced risk for stroke and cardiovascular disease, and even plays a role in developing a stronger immune system.

If that’s not enough to convince you that kindness is healthy, consider this. When you engage in kind actions, endorphins are produced, acting as the body’s natural painkiller. Doctors find an average of 23 percent less cortisol, known as the stress hormone, in people who habitually practice kindness.

promoting kindness

So what are some fun and creative ways to spread kindness besides the “buy a cup of coffee for a stranger?”

  • Help an elderly neighbor bring in groceries or mow their lawns for them.
  • Send a handwritten letter to someone who you’ve not heard from in a while instead of just texting.
  • Leave an encouraging note (and decent tip) on a napkin for a server at your favorite restaurant.
  • Compliment a stranger sincerely. Choose something like the way they smile or how nice they were to someone else.
  • Send coloring books and crayons to children who are staying in a hospital.
  • Send flowers to someone for no reason at all. Or if you have a flower garden cut some of your own flowers put them in a Mason Jar.
  • Support your local small businesses by buying local!
  • Let someone in front of you while driving, even if they are being kind of a jerk.
  • Send a random “thank you” email to someone you admire or someone who has gone above and beyond
  • Reach out to an old friend and reminisce about a time you both shared together. You could send them an old picture or even a text to say hello. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been – just let someone know you miss them!

If you are looking for more ideas for Random Acts of Kindness check out the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation- https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

kindness activities for kids

Kindness Activities for Kids

If we want our kids to show kindness we have to teach them.  In our house we started our study on kindness by reading Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?  The kids really latched on to the idea that they have an invisible bucket that is either filled or dumped based on their actions. 

From there we make an effort to model acts of kindness every day. We helped others whenever possible, something as simple as helping a sibling find their shoes. We also modeled using nice tones and phrases.  

To “record” all the kind acts the kids started earning “bucket fillers” (little gems) that they would put into buckets.  They love counting their bucket fillers and even started reminding each other about filling their buckets instead of dipping into each other’s bucket. 

Things you can do with your kids-

  • Bake a treat for a neighbor or friend. We love making cookies or loaves of sourdough bread.
  • Donate a book to a local free library or school. I have a confession…I love BOOKS!! And hate getting rid of them when the kids have outgrown them or moved on. Donating them to a free library or school makes me HAPPY!!  We will often add them to our Little Free Library.
  • Make simple birdseed cakes to hang up around a local park.
  • Help write “hello” notes to family and friends. 

Are you ready to start using Bucket Fillers with your Kiddos??  Then check out my Bucket Filler starter kit. 

We truly believe that everyone is equal and should be treated with respect.  We live by “Treating Others The Way you Want to be Treated”!  We would love to know what random acts of kindness you have taken part in this week.  Send us a message or tag us on Social Media (@hummingbird.acres).

And what kindness activities for kids do you love?

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