The Kind Blog

It's a New Year! Make a resolution to exercise your Kindness Muscle in 2015.

Here are 15 ideas to get you started:

1. Year of Kindness Box: Create a New Years tradition. On the first day of the new year, start a Year of Kindness Box. Throughout the year, fill up the box with: compliments you received, thank you notes, moments of kindness you witnessed, acts of kindness you did, inspiring quotes, etc. Then after the year is over, review the contents!

2. Create a Gratitude Journal: A five-minute a day gratitude journal can increase your long-term well-being by more than 10 percent. That’s the same impact as doubling your income!" From Happier Human

3. Three Compliments: Compliment the first three people you talk to.

4. 52 Thank You Notes: Express your gratitude for the people in your life, write one thank you note every week to a different person: Need a quick thank-you note format? Check out The Five Minute Thank You Note.

5. A Kind Twist on Happy Hour: Invite a group of people you know (friends, family, coworkers) to the happiest of happy hours and spend one-hour doing acts of kindness for others.

6. Positive Sticky Notes: Carry a stack of positive sticky notes with you wherever I go. Post them when you're somewhere that needs a little bit more kindness.

7. Morning Kindness: Before you get out of bed, focus on kindness. Think of a kind motto for your day or text a positive good morning note to a friend.

8. Daily Positivity: Every day, think of a random person. Send them a positive message (text, email, social media post, phone call, letter, etc.)

9. Volunteer: Think of a cause you care about or a group in your community that could use some help. Volunteering has some serious health benefits too.

10. Beautify Your Surroundings: Spend 10 minutes picking up litter in your neighborhood, park or other commonly visited locations.

11. Kind Body Image: Place positive body image sticky notes on dressing room mirrors.

12. Coupon Fairy: Save unused/unwanted coupons and put them next to relevant products next time you're at the grocery store

13. Be Kind to the Earth: Research ways to be kind to the environment and reduce your carbon footprint. Here are seven ideas to get you started.

14. Smile: According to an article from Psychology Today, "Each time you smile, you throw a little feel-good party in your brain. The act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness."

15. Self-Kindness: Do one kind thing every week for yourself. Enjoy a treat you love, exercise, eat a healthy meal, or do something you love and rarely have time to do.

We love to hear from you! Share your kind actions and ideas using #RAKtivist or email info@randomactsofkindness.org 

Need even more kindness ideas? www.randomactsofkindness.org