By Stephen DeAngelis
English broadcaster and author Fearne Cotton Wood once stated, “We live in such a fast-moving world that’s often so unforgiving, and so unkind.” It doesn’t have to be that way. People can choose to do better. You can start by celebrating World Kindness Day, which is celebrated worldwide tomorrow. “World Kindness Day,” explains the staff at Awareness Days, “is an annual event that encourages individuals to practice kindness in their daily lives. It highlights the importance of empathy, understanding, and cooperation to create a more harmonious and caring world.”[1] Unfortunately, contention often replaces kindness as the norm — especially when politics get involved. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation wants to change that.
They want to make kindness, not contention, the norm. Brooke Jones, the Foundation’s Vice President, writes, “As we celebrate World Kindness Day, I invite you to look for ways to make kindness the norm in your daily life. World Kindness Day is a great day to begin building a new routine which means including intentional moments of kindness, laughter and delight. It also means taking a moment to enjoy and recognize when those things are happening. Kindness starts with one. One smile. One compliment. One cup of coffee. One conversation.”[2] World Kindness day was launched in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement. The mission of the World Kindness Movement (WKM) is “to inspire individuals and connect nations to create a kinder world.”
The Importance of Kindness
Most of us would be happy to see the world a little more forgiving and a little kinder. That will take more than just being nice. Health and science journalist Jocelyn Solis-Moreira explains why being kind goes beyond being nice. She writes, “There’s a difference between [being] nice and being kind — even our bodies recognize the distinction. Kindness not only pours a lot of good into the world, but it’s also good for one’s own health. It doesn’t take much to harness the power of kindness, and it can be as simple as wishing someone a good day over text.”[3] To bring home her point about the difference between being nice and being kind, Solis-Moreira cites three professionals. Dr. Carla Marie Manly, a clinical psychologist, states that being nice involves being polite and pleasing to others. She says, “If you’re people pleasing, you’re placing an expectation on the person you’re being nice to that they respond to you in a certain way,” In other words, “Niceness can be used as a social strategy to get into someone’s good graces.” Dr. Ash Nadkarni, an associate psychiatrist and director of wellness at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, says that being kind is less self-serving. “On the one hand,” she notes, “kindness involves being generous without expecting to get anything in return. The other half is the purpose behind the action. A kind person is acting out of compassion and genuine concern for another.” Dr. Catherine Franssen, a neuroscientist, agrees that the difference is intentionality. She notes, “A kind person tries to really understand what someone else is going through. Practicing kindness rather than niceness allows people to foster deeper genuine connections with others. The more you do it, the easier it will get to relate to others and build more meaningful relationships in all aspects of life.”
When entrepreneur and angel investor Marjorie Radlo-Zandi found herself in need of help in the midst of a power outage during freezing weather, she was the recipient of random acts of kindness. “There was no mandate for any of these behaviors,” she writes. “People acted out of genuine kindness and compassion. The exceptional acts of kindness took me out of my stressed-out, shivering-cold pity party by elevating my mood and boosting my overall well-being. Instead of feeling isolated and alone, I was buoyed by a sense of social support and belonging within my community.”[4] Research supports the idea that being kind benefits both the giver and the receiver. Radlo-Zandi points to research conducted by Amit Kumar, an assistant professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, and his colleague Nicholas Epley, the John Templeton Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago. Radlo-Zandi writes, “Kumar and Epley found that both the person acting kindly and the kindness recipient were in a better, more positive mood than normal after the kindness exchange. A positive mood directly impacts your overall emotional well-being. You recognize it as an unmistakable glow that wells up inside you.” She also points to research from Steve Siegle of the Mayo Clinic, who insists, “[Kindness is] a quality of being you can cultivate.”
Get Involved
If you want to cultivate the quality of being kind. The staff at Awareness Days suggests a few ways you can start:
● Perform Acts of Kindness: Remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. “Throughout the day, consciously perform acts of kindness, such as helping a neighbor, complimenting a colleague, or donating to a charity. … Surprise someone with a random act of kindness, such as buying a stranger’s coffee or leaving an encouraging note for a friend.”
● Spread Positivity: “Share uplifting and positive messages on social media to inspire others to be kind and compassionate.”
● Volunteer: “Offer your time to volunteer for a local charity or nonprofit organization that aligns with your values.”
● Donate: “Make a donation to a charitable cause that you believe in, whether it’s for humanitarian aid, education, or healthcare.”
● Teach Kindness: “Educate children and young people about the importance of kindness and empathy through storytelling or classroom activities.”
Your gestures of kindness don’t have to be large. Keeping that in mind, Solis-Moreira offers a few more suggestions: Pick up litter; check in on a friend who is going through a rough patch; donate blood; text someone good morning; hold the door open for someone; surprise your parents with a visit; send a positive message; leave a generous tip for a server; be an active listener; and/or cook a meal for someone in need.
Concluding Thoughts
Freelancer Korrin Bishop writes, “As the saying goes, ‘In a world where you can be anything, be kind,’ and World Kindness Day 2024 — an event held annually on November 13 — is a perfect time to start.”[5] Choosing to be kind isn’t difficult. And, in spite of the current political situation, kindness may actually be more abundant that we realize. Claudia Hammond, a Visiting Professor for the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Sussex, explains, “Kind acts don’t have to be huge. Yes, you could train for months to do a sponsored marathon to raise thousands for charity or volunteer each week at your local hospice (and don’t let me stop you if you want to do either of those things), but if you really don’t have the time, small acts can make a difference, too. … The top five ways that people told us they were kind weren’t huge at all. They included opening doors, picking up things people had dropped and having concerned feelings for people less fortunate than themselves. And this is how kindness in fact turned out to be very common in the study: 16% of people said they had received an act of kindness within the last hour and a further 43% received an act of kindness within the last day.”[6] World Kindness Day is a great time to make someone’s day through a random act of kindness.
Footnotes
[1] Staff, “World Kindness Day 2024,” Awareness Days.
[2] Brooke Jones, “Make Kindness the Norm,” Random Acts of Kindness Foundation Blog, 1 November 2022.
[3] Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, “Being a nice person is not the same as being kind. Why the difference is so important,” CNN, 13 November 2023
[4] Marjorie Radlo-Zandi, “How even the smallest acts of kindness make us happier and healthier,” Fast Company, 29 April 2024.
[5] Korrin Bishop, “World Kindness Day 2024: What It Is and How to Participate (+ Inspiration),” Classy, 12 September 2024.
[6] Claudia Hammond, “Why we all need to be a lot less hesitant about being kind,” The Guardian, 13 November 2022.
