Happy New Year Friends!! I really can’t believe that it is 2017! Most years I write about resolutions with the first post of the New Year! Looking back I see that I accomplished some and completely failed many!! This year I wanted to write about something that we all could succeed with that would not only make each of us happier, but this world a better place!

I love this chart that illustrates where our happiness comes from. It certainly shows that our background, heritage, health and income contributes, but 40% comes completely from our own actions.

Putting a smile on someone else’s face not only makes them happy but research proves that it makes us happier as well! So let’s all choose happiness for ourselves and others and take on a random acts of kindness challenge together!

Random Acts Of Kindness Challenge!

photo credit: No act of kindness is ever wasted/david-trattnig via flic.kr

Greater Good in Action couldn’t have mapped out the how to’s and evidence any better, so this section below is copied directly from their post on Random Acts of Kindness.

How to Do It

One day this week, perform five acts of kindness—all five in one day. It doesn’t matter if the acts are big or small, but it is more effective if you perform a variety of acts.

The acts do not need to be for the same person—the person doesn’t even have to be aware of them. Examples include: feeding a stranger’s parking meter, donating blood, helping a friend with a chore, or providing a meal to a person in need.

After each act, write down what you did in at least one or two sentences; for more of a happiness boost, also write down how it made you feel.

Evidence That It Works

Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K., & Schkade, D. (2005) Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111-131.

Study participants who performed five acts of kindness every week for six weeks saw a significant boost in happiness, but only if they performed their five acts in a single day rather than spread out over each week. This may be because many acts of kindness are small, so spreading them out might make them harder to remember and savor.

Evidence suggests that variety is key. People who perform the same acts over and over show a downward trajectory in happiness, perhaps because any act starts to feel less special the more it becomes routine.

Random Acts of Kindness Ideas!

Source

• Use sticky notes to put on co-workers’ computer screens or on random parts of your home with something nice on them like “great job today”, “you’re beautiful”, “thanks for your help” or…..?
• Bring your assistant coffee.
• Say “please” and “thank you”—and really mean it.
• Put a quarter in someone’s parking meter.
• Call your parents.
• Give a homeless person a boxed lunch or bottle of water.
• Say hello to the person standing next to you in the elevator.
• Create a special celebration or holiday to thank someone you love! It could be as simple as putting notes in a jar all year for that special someone and on that day read them all out loud.
• For no reason, send flowers to a friend.

• Give someone a random “Thank you gift” for no reason!
• Ask someone how they are and really listen to their response.
• Pay for the coffee of someone behind you.
• Let a car over on the street or freeway.
• Tell your family how much you appreciate them.
• Encourage one who seems down.
• Visit a nursing home and talk to someone who doesn’t have visitors.

• Offer to give someone a ride.
• Leave a great tip for a good waiter.
• Smile at someone you don’t know.
• Take dinner to a friend.
• Email or text a friend to tell them how special they are to you! It can be simple like, “Just wanted to let you know what a great friend you are to me!” A few seconds of your time can make someone’s entire day!
• When you buy goods from over 1,700 other online retailers you can use iGive to have that retailer donate money to your favorite charity. This includes major retailers like Best Buy, Expedia, Bed Bath and Beyond, and others.

• Visit someone who is sick.
• Write a letter to a deployed or wounded member of the military through Operation Gratitude. Soldiers say that’s the most meaningful part of care packages they receive.
• Write a note to the boss of someone who helps you, and explain how great a job that person is doing.
• Pick up trash and throw it away.
• Write a letter to a child who might need a little extra attention.
• Hold a door open for a stranger.

• Give a good book to someone when you are finished reading it.
• Put your phone away when you are talking with someone.

I am excited to hear from all of you and your random acts suggestions! Help to inspire us all by posting your comments! I look forward to sharing a kind and happy 2017 with each of you! Until next week!

If you are interested in hosting an event or carrying the book  please don’t hesitate to reach out! Email Karly@segretofinishes.com for all inquiries! We love to visit new cities!!!