Kind humans know that life is hard, messy, and complex. Yet they understand that people are doing their best with the tools, resources, and experience they carry. Charles Glassman captured this by saying, “Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle.”
Just loaning someone your strength and support. Supporting someone by doing whatever you can, wherever you are, with whatever you have is a sign of who you are—a kind human.
Kindness is doing the things that may go without acknowledgment and thanks. Authentic and intentional kindness doesn’t expect anything in return. We can practice kindness for kindness’ sake, not for the personal gain or the approval of others.
Kindness is a universal language that can bring people together regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, status, and identity. The good news is that it’s completely free too! I don’t think the saying “kindness makes the world go ‘round” came about without reason.
Most of us will have heard that "doing good is good for you" or "it’s better to give than to receive." It may be a surprise to learn that the research genuinely supports this. When we show up for others kindly, the benefits go both ways. Practicing kindness for the sake of kindness is one of the greatest gifts we can give to others and ourselves.
Research shows that performing acts of kindness and helping others improves the happiness of the helper (Curry et al., 2018; Hamilton, 2017). A study by Rowland and Curry (2019) found that people who performed kindness activities for seven days experienced greater happiness. The increase in happiness was true whether the social tie was a friend, family member, stranger, or themselves. As you might expect, the more kind activities one does, the greater the boost in happiness. Even just observing acts of kindness had positive effects on one’s happiness.
