Kindness: The Little Things That Change Everything
This week it was National Random Acts of Kindness Day. Stop and think about it for a moment… when was the last time you performed a random act of kindness?
It doesn’t have to be an expensive grand gesture, often it’s the smaller things that matter: • Letting the person out in the queue of traffic • Complimenting a stranger • Leaving a coin in the shopping trolley for the next person
These things can really stick with someone and totally change their day. Maybe the person you let out in traffic was on their way to see their dying mother for the last time and thanks to you they made it in time. The stranger was feeling really low but got a massive boost knowing that you took the time to compliment them on their hat, the harassed Mum in the supermarket who didn’t have a free hand to find a coin didn’t lose her rag with the toddler.
It all just spreads out in waves, doesn’t it? What might seem trivial to you, can be a really big deal to someone else.
Have you ever noticed that being kind, makes you feel good too?
Dr. David Hamilton phd has done lots of research around kindness and the benefits of kindness and has found 5 “side effects” of kindness: Kindness makes us happier – that warm glow we get. Kindness is good for the heart – chemicals are released which lower your blood pressure. Kindness slows aging – Inflammation is reduced as a result of kindness Kindness improves relationships – We feel more bonded and closer to people who are kind to us. Kindness is Contagious – isn’t this fantastic? If you’re kind to someone, it creates a ripple of kindness outwards to others.
A moment of kindness may be brief, but its impact can travel far beyond the instant it’s given




