Does kindness REALLY make us happy?
In brief. Yes. Experts have been studying the science of kindness for decades and much has been written about the benefits of being kind. Kindness makes us feel good, mentally and physically. Read on...
I think it’s safe to say we’ve all had those bad days where all you want to do is go home and switch your brain off...
However, it’s common knowledge that kind acts do make us feel better, so problem solved, right? Well, I also know that after a rubbish day, the idea of moving around all over the place isn’t at the top of my agenda. But don’t worry, Good&Kind is full of quick and easy acts of kindness, many of which can be done from the comfort of your work desk or sofa at home. Let’s get started…
To start with – don’t panic. This does sound like a scary act to begin with, but let me put it into perspective. Hypothetically let’s say you are on a salary of £21,000. For the purpose of this quick explanation I won’t go into tax calculations, so let’s say you take home £1750 a month.
1% of that is just £17.50 or around 5 cups of coffee. Each week of the month if you bought one less cup of coffee on your morning commute then you’d save yourself this money.
The actual act of donating 1% of your monthly salary to charity is super easy. Simply set up a recurring bank transfer to the charity of your choice. This can take less than 10 minutes to do and can all be done online – meaning you don’t have to move. Perfection.
When we’re busy with work, family, kids, bills, friendships etc. it can be really easy to forget about how awesome we really are. One kind act that can take as little as 5 minutes is to create a list of everything you love about someone.
The list doesn’t need to be an essay either, just a few things jotted down on paper. Just a quick warning though – expect a few tears or at least a hug when you give them the list...
What is crowdfunding? Put simply, it’s when someone has an idea that they want to make a reality, but they don’t have the financial backing to make it happen. They then call upon the general public to donate anything they can to help fund the project.
If you head over to GoFundMe or Kickstarter you’ll find a huge variety of projects that need some support. While you’re relaxing on the sofa, you could easily browse and donate a few pennies if one does catch your eye!
Hands up if you are signed up to at least 1 social media website…I myself know that I’m connected to my friends constantly and I’m pretty sure they can tell how my day has gone just by how I’m talking (or not talking) in an online group chat.
Or they might already know that I have a big day at work ahead of me i.e. a presentation or pitch for example. This is when a quick 10 second message like “Hope you’re okay mate” or “My fingers are crossed for you today pal” that really bring a smile to my face.
Watching an endless amount of cat videos online has never felt this good! Did you know that Ecosia will plant a tree for every 45 searches you do? While writing this very sentence I can see their online live counter going up constantly. At 65.8 million trees planted so far, I think it’s fair to say that Ecosia is having – and will continue to have – a huge impact on our environment. Better yet, it’s such a simple change that everyone can make…without even moving.
What did you think of this list? If you have any kind acts that are currently not listed on Good&Kind – please let us know. We would love to hear from you!