Kindness – something I think the world could use more of, especially in recent months. With all the turmoil that the United States and the world have been through lately, I admit I have been feeling a bit discouraged with how things have been going. Perhaps I watch too much news or read far too many articles about negative issues, and while I do think it is important to be informed, I think there is a certain point when you just have to say enough is enough and put your phone down and turn off the television.
That is precisely what I have done this week in particular, by deciding to take a break from focusing on all of the negative things in the world and focus on the positive. And I thought, what better way of focusing on the positive than by being more positive yourself? I took it upon myself to spend a day with the intention of being more kind to everyone around me. First of all, it just started with me holding doors open for people (which is something I already do), but I made sure to stand at doors longer than I usually do, so I could help more people.
But then I got the idea of doing something a bit more anonymous – leaving positive notes around my college campus. So I then took one of my sticky note pads and sat down and wrote out a variety of positive notes ranging from “You are enough” to “You can do it” and even the occasional “You matter” note. I then took this sticky notepad with me all throughout the day and I randomly stuck most of the notes on mirrors in girl’s bathroom on campus.
I think we as females especially are hyper-critical of ourselves and I just wanted to brighten up someone’s day- even if for a few minutes. I also left a few positive sticky notes in some random elevators on campus too, so more people would be able to see something nice as well.
Reflecting on this experience, I was so glad that I decided to spend a day focused on kindness because it made me feel like I was making a difference in someone else’s day. While my positive notes probably didn’t reach as many people as I might have liked, it still makes me feel good to know that I can still have an impact. Also, this day of kindness has inspired me to be kinder to not only other people but kinder to myself as well. I often get so stuck inside my head that I forget to appreciate my positive qualities as well.
So now that you have read this, I hope I have inspired you to partake in a random act of kindness yourself because the world sure could use some more of it.