Explore the very good: Finding kindness in an unkind globe

Celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day by opening your self up to the kindness taking place every single day

The globe does not often really feel like a type location to be, and for lots of of us, the final 12 months have felt specially unkind. Recognising that and determined to shift the mood, this year’s Random Acts of Kindness Day theme is ‘explore the good’.

“In 2021, we encourage everyone to Explore the Good and Make Kindness the Norm. Stories come to us on a daily basis. They are beautiful and heartwarming, but mostly they give us hope.

“We hear of seemingly insignificant moments where a stranger helps another stranger and impacts the rest of their life with a small gesture. When we tune into kindness happening around us, the day seems a little bit brighter. The week seems a little more manageable.”

Even throughout attempting occasions, amazing acts of kindness are taking place. And in hopes of spreading some of this joy, right here are some of the modest but gorgeous moments that have produced a distinction to you throughout lockdown.

Vicky Charalampidou got a nudge to launch her business

“I’d been thinking of setting up my own business for a while and then, one day, during lockdown, my husband sent me the Virgin startups business plan template.

“That was last April. My business plan got approved last July and my business was launched right before Christmas. None of this would have ever been possible without his support and it all began with what felt like a random act: handing me a business plan template!”

Ruth Barrett’s pal gave her and her husband the honeymoon they missed

“When our honeymoon was cancelled my incredible friend sent us everything to recreate the tropical feel at home, including leis, snazzy party straws, hula skirts and cocktail making kits. It was a small thing that made a big difference to us.”

Sheila Morgan discovered warmth in an act of kindness on a cold day

“Last week the local car wash was frozen. My car was in a state due to being splattered in mud by a very large tractor. Even the roof was covered. An employee at the petrol station used his work card and insisted on thoroughly hosing down and washing my car. He would not accept any payment or even a coffee (it was -3 degrees). He said his reward was seeing someone smile.”

An act of kindness from Jessamine Hislop’s pal helped when occasions got challenging

“It has been a super tough year when business stopped for the events industry, and as a solo mum to five, it has been tough to keep going and stay positive. However, recently a fellow business owner dropped off a wellbeing/self-care treat which really lifted my spirits and made me find my fight again. Totally random and out of the blue.”

Kirsteen Macpherson Bardell’s mates stepped in when Coronavirus took more than

“My family caught Coronavirus in January and my friends really helped us so much. They left bags of food and treats on the doorstep, put extra ibuprofen through the letterbox, and one of my friends even came over in the snow with home-cooked meals when we started to recover so that we didn’t have to cook. My extended family live far away so I’m so lucky to have my amazing friends nearby.”

The very good is out there, there’s no doubt about that. But we appreciate it can from time to time be difficult to spot, so how specifically can we tune ourselves into it?  

How to discover the very good

Follow positive news outlets

Media outlets can be a breeding ground for negativity, generally relying on worry as a tactic to maintain men and women engaged. While, of course, it is critical to keep informed, limiting your news intake and discovering more positive outlets to adhere to for balance can assistance.

Take a appear at who you are following news-sensible and on social media and attempt to bulk up on the positive outlets/organisations. We like Positive News, Action for Happiness and the Good News Network.

Start a gratitude practice

The very simple practice of noting what you are grateful for may perhaps sound very simple, but it has extraordinary effects from lowering tension to enhancing resilience. Try writing down a single issue you are grateful for every single day on a piece of paper and add it to an empty jar. When you next really feel a small hopeless, attain into the jar and remind your self of some thing very good in your life.

Start savouring

Savouring is a strategy that assists to amplify the positive moments of your life and is linked to raise happiness. There are lots of diverse methods to savour moments, like sharing it with other individuals, immersing your self in the senses you are experiencing and temporal awareness. Temporal awareness is when you recognise that time is fleeting and can assistance you appreciate moments that may possibly otherwise pass by unnoticed.

In this video, Gretchen Rubin shares how temporal awareness helped her appreciate her bus rides with her daughter.

Create an proof bank

Because our brains have a negativity bias, we naturally focus on the unfavorable more than the positive. This signifies we need to have to be intentional about noticing the very good. One way to do this is to start off an proof bank – a photo album on your telephone exactly where you save photos or screenshots of factors that make you smile. It may possibly be the cute infant image your pal sent more than or a screenshot of an uplifting news story. Storing these up signifies you can come back to it when the globe feels unkind.

Things are not simple at the moment, but hope is in sight and if we can take the time to be type to other individuals and discover the very good in our each day lives, we’re positive factors will start off to really feel simpler.

If you are struggling, nevertheless, there’s no shame in asking for assistance. If you consider you would advantage from specialist assistance, you can go to Counselling Directory to come across emotional help on-line or close to you.