Fitness challenges seem to be popping up all around us. I thought I’d adopt the fitness challenge idea to issue a kindness challenge. Below is a step by step action list for you to follow that won’t take a lot of time, will cost you very little (nothing if you are creative), and should help you feel happier and be kinder by the end of not only each day, but over the period you engage with this list.
Day 1: Write a note of recognition and give it to the person you wrote it to (this part is very important). For example, “Hi Person, I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that I admire your parenting skills. I think you are very creative when it comes to making every experience a positive learning lesson for your children. Your good parenting is evident because your children are always so polite.”
Day 2: Tell a business why you are a committed customer. For example, “Dear Business X, you have a customer for life with me. You are always efficient, your staff is very friendly, and you are always able to help me with what I need. Thank you!”
Day 3: Tell someone you see daily (a spouse, child, co-worker) one reason why you appreciate them. For example, “Hey husband, I don’t think I tell you often enough how much I admire your willingness to pitch in and help people when you have a skill that fits their need. It is one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place and still does.”
Day 4: Leave a note of appreciation for someone who does a job that serves you regularly (mail delivery person, garbage hauler, etc.). For example, “Hi Mail Person, just wanted to leave you a quick note to thank you for doing your job every day. It can’t be easy or fun when it is cold and snowy or when dogs try to crunch you, but I am so thankful for you.”
Day 5: Tell a non-profit organization how much you appreciate what they do. For example, “Hi Employees of Non-Profit X, I know you all work very hard with limited resources. I want you to know that your work is appreciated. I am not the only one who sees what you do and appreciates you for it. Keep up the excellent work!”
Day 6: Thank someone who you should have thanked a long time ago but haven’t. For example, “Dear son’s teacher, I know a lot of time has passed since you organized project XYZ. I have been meaning to thank you. It was very fun for my son and he talked about it for weeks. Thank you for making a positive difference in my son’s life.”
Day 7: Write down three things in life you are grateful for. That’s it. Just write it down.
This is just one week of activities. Can you find approximately 3.29 minutes a day for seven days to do these small but effective tasks? My suggestion is that after the first week is up, reflect on what happened. If you like what happened and you enjoy the way you feel, then I suggest adopting this list for one month. If you like that then try two months. If you do this for two months, not only will you have done a whole lot of good and made a lot of people smile, but you will also have 24 things written down that you are grateful for. That’s a great start to a list that you can look back at when you are having a tough day.
Achieving this list should be a simple thing to do. And since it is broken down in little pieces to accomplish over the course of a week, it is completely possible to be successful. Good luck and if you feel like it, share with me how your week went.