Can I be honest for a minute? This week was busy for many reasons. As a result of my busy days and overall full schedule I found it difficult to follow through with performing random acts of kindness this week. At times in the week it just felt like a weight I was carrying along with me and if I'm being honest, if it weren't for this Genius Hour project I probably wouldn't have completed all the acts that I did.
I've come to learn that being busy can actually be the rival of intentional kindness acts. This being said, I have to admit that once I completed the acts that I did this week I felt a huge lift. It almost seemed to alleviate some of the anxiety and frustration I was experiencing. This is not only for just getting them done, but for knowing I was supporting someone else, or something else outside of what is going on in my own little corner of the universe. One of my goals has always been that I want people to know they are seen. I want people (and dogs in this case as well - I'm getting to this) to know that someone is thinking about them and that even a stranger can show love and appreciation for them. Doing the small things I did this week are little ways that I can express this to others in a simple way.
My random acts of kindness this week included leaving positive reviews for 5 of my favourite local businesses. I've recently had some great interactions and awesome customer service at businesses I've dropped into and I wanted to take a minute to show them some love!
I've raised some money over the past several months by selling some mental health awareness merchandise and the funds raised have been feeding back into the project for the most part. I had some money left int he account and I decided to make a donation to a mental health initiative that I'm pretty passionate about. The point of selling the merchandise was always to contribute to suicide awareness and prevention efforts, so I was happy to get funds into hands that can work with them!
Okay, so here is where the reference to dogs comes in HAHA!
Our neighbours are away this week and have asked my son to walk their dog every morning. Their son isn't home until late afternoon from work, so they asked my boy to help out with some walks while the dog is alone. My son has been in lifeguard training all week, so I offered to take the dog on walks in the morning to reduce his stress in the morning. The thing is, I just couldn't bare the thought Frankie (the neighbours dog) sitting alone all day in their house when I'm just a couple houses away working from home. So, one of my random acts of kindness this week was for Frankie the dog. I've been taking him either on an extra walk during the day, or bringing him to my house to hang out with our dog. 🐕 🐩 The neighbours will never know that I've been spending some extra time with their pup, but Frankie sure does and he seems happy. That makes me happy.
MORE RESEARCH
I've really been digging for some quantifiable, more objective research on the topic of random acts of kindness, but what I'm finding is that feelings are really difficult to measure objectively. We know if we're having a good feeling, we know if we're having a bad feeling, and we can recognize when we're apathetic. All the research I have been able to draw on has been testimonial based.
I came across an article on the Harvard Health Blog outlining that a recent study reported on how people felt after 7 days of performing or witnessing kind acts. I was directed through that blog to more detailed information on this study. The participants in the study were measured for happiness before and after the 7 days. The finding outlined that being kind to ourselves, strangers, acquaintances, or even actively observing kindness BOOSTED HAPPINESS!
Rowland, Lee and Curry, Oliver Scott. (2019) Natural Library of Medicine. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29702043/
I also found the document below full of relevant information on random acts of kindness with specific references to studies preformed on the topic. The information provided is so encouraging. I really have felt the 'helper's high' over the past few weeks and I loved how this was described in more detail in this document. It stated that according to research from Emory University, when you are kind to another person, your brain's pleasure and reward centres light up, as if you were the recipient of the good deed - not the giver. This phenomenon is called the "Helper's High."
My goals for the coming week are to continue with some random acts of kindness within my every day activities and interactions. I am also hoping to start working on some tools to assist others in starting their own kindness initiative. This will include a RAOK Challenge, and an infographic on kindness acts and how these acts can change lives, prolong lives, and even save lives.
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