The Gift of Being Kind

We usually perform random acts of kindness when we first meet someone or for a stranger. We buy our new friends’ food and offer to drive them places, we compliment strangers and hold the door for them. But what happens after you’ve been best friends or dating someone for years? Typically, random acts of kindness start to become less frequent. After you have established and proved you love someone, you might stop showing it. However, random acts of kindness, which is a form of showing love and appreciation, should stay frequent in your relationships. Below are ways to do this and some advice on how to do it. 

1. Do the little things

Random acts of kindness don’t have to be drastic, expensive, time-consuming, or big. Writing an encouraging message on a sticky note and putting it on their desk, door, book, bookbag, etc. can be a simple, yet very impactful act of kindness. I have made my roommate’s day just by writing her a one-sentence note. When you make coffee or chew a piece of gum, offer people some. Wash your roommates’ dishes, give someone a hug, sit with someone who is sitting alone, or simply just be a friend to someone who doesn’t have many. Most times the smallest acts of kindness are the ones most needed.

2. Listen to others

Listening in of itself can be an act of kindness. Make sure people know they are being heard and cared about. Whether it’s listening to their funny story, their bad day, or anything else, listening and being there for people can be life-changing for them. I had a friend who was struggling through some life events tell me one time, “thank you for listening, it made me feel so much better”, and I didn’t even offer advice! All I did was listen. Can you believe that an act of kindness can be as simple as not saying or doing anything?!

3. Take initiative

Reaching out to a friend and asking to grab coffee with them, making movie plans with someone, or sending a nice text to someone telling them to have a nice day, are all acts of kindness. Take the initiative in your relationships and reach out to people. Making people feel like you want to hang out with them is an act of kindness because it can most often than not make their day and make them feel loved. 

As you can see, being kind isn’t hard. Whether it’s a friend you’ve had for years, a group of people you hang out with, a significant other, or a teacher, you should strive to make random acts of kindness part of your life. They impact other people in positive ways and will also be beneficial for you, as mentioned in part 1 of our kindness post ( /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/random-act-of-kindness/index.php ). I encourage you to go out today and try any of the acts mentioned in either part 1 or 2. Don’t ever get tired of being kind or doing kind things!