Kindness is a gift to yourself.

Wheeeeeee! by lou & magoo

Recently I’ve been pleased to see so many web sites dedicated to kindness on the Internet. Two great examples are Help Other.org and Gift of Kindness.com. Both of these wonderful sites share stories from people who have received kindness from others, and ideas on how you can be kind to someone else.

In this day and age of bad news, verbal attacks, and constant complaining, these groups are a breath of fresh air. By signing up for their free newsletters you will get weekly reminders that people are mostly good and that being kind has a ripple effect that spreads to others.

Some of the ideas are so simple; smile, give someone a compliment, lend a hand, help a neighbor. Wonderful ideas that are easy to do. Give what you have; time, money, advice, or skill. Maybe you can paint a fence, take someone to dinner, or watch the kids for a busy couple. With a little thought you can make someone very happy – and the great part is their happiness will make you happy!

It’s an amazing phenomenon, when you help someone you receive a boost to your own self-esteem. What a joy to do an unexpected kindness for someone else. To see them smile and laugh and enjoy themselves. Let’s even assume you’re doing it selfishly; you want to be seen as a good person. So what? If someone lent me a hand or did me a favor, it will still benefit me – even if they get a big head from their efforts.

Want to do more? Check out the free kindness cards and totally cute free posters. Print them out and share them, hang the posters in your office. With luck you’ll get a smile or two, and maybe even inspire someone new to spread kindness in their world. For sure you can’t do any damage by spreading some smiles and good cheer. Check it out today!