The Ultimate Guide to Help You Always Choose Kindness
It’s not always easy to choose kindness in our busy lives. We sometimes neglect to take the time to demonstrate compassion and kindness toward ourselves and others. But it’s essential to your mental health, happiness, and wellbeing to always choose kindness even when it might be difficult. And you could be making a big difference in someone else’s day with just a little act of kindness.
Let’s explore more about why it’s important to always choose kindness toward yourself and others.
Related Article: 33 Heartwarming Generosity and Kindness Quotes to Inspire You
What Does Choose Kindness Mean?
When you choose kindness, it means that you have a heart full of love, warmth, and positivity that you share with others around you. You are also able to love yourself and are open to receiving love and kindness from others.
Choosing kindness is not just about being nice because that’s what you think is the right thing to do. It’s about truly living a life of warmth and kindness that extends to genuinely wanting others to be as happy as you are.
To always choose kindness means that you avoid being negative, angry, or mean. You always make a conscious effort to to put kindness out into the world regardless of circumstances.
Choosing kindness does not mean that you have to put forth great effort. It’s really very simple to always choose kindness with even the simplest acts of kindness such as a smile, a hug, or encouraging words for someone who is having a bad day.
Simple acts of kindness go along way toward making you and those around you feel good without expending too much time or energy. So go ahead and hold the door open for someone and see how good you feel about it!
Benefits of Always Choosing Kindness
Psychology Today explains the benefits of choosing kindness in a very simple way:
“Kindness not only feels good but also does us good. To begin with, connecting with others through kind deeds allows us to meet our basic psychological needs of relatedness and belonging. Performing acts of kindness can also increase life satisfaction, positive mood, and peer acceptance.”
In other words, when you choose kindness, it’s good for your heart and soul but it also meets many psychological needs that increase happiness in life. Pretty cool, huh?
So while you are being kind to others with simple gestures, actions, or words, you are also gaining many benefits.
And you could well be making a great difference in the day of the person on the receiving end of your kindness. Let’s explore more benefits of choosing kindness.
1. Greater Personal Happiness
One of the best ways to achieve personal happiness is to develop and maintain a heart of kindness and share it with the world. Cultivate a heart of kindness and compassion and you’ll learn the power of kindness.
2. Inspire Others Around You
When you do something kind for others, you could have a profound impact by inspiring them to pay it forward and do something kind for others. It could become a chain of kindness that goes around the world.
3. Kindness is Good for Your Health
Developing your compassion muscle and sharing kind acts with others actually improves your mental health and wellbeing. It produces happy endorphins in your brain that generate good vibes and help you stay health, happy, and positive.
4. People Will Always Remember How You Made Them Feel
Be kind and compassionate to everyone because they will always remember how you made them feel. Kindness helps you make positive connections. Don’t ever forget my favorite quote from Maya Angelou:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
5. Kindness Improves Relationships
This is similar to the previous benefit of kindness. When you are kind to others, they will usually be kind to you. It’s a win-win situation. When you are kind, considerate, and compassionate in your relationships, you’ll find that your social connection and relationship improves.
6. Kindness Leaves a Good Impression
When you are among strangers, or meeting new people in the work place, or even hanging out in a social situation, it is natural for human beings to notice and enjoy people who are kind, positive, and happy. Be the person that leaves an impression on random strangers.
7. Kindness Alleviates Social Anxiety
Share kind words, or a simple act of kindness, or even a listening ear with someone who appears to be uncomfortable in social settings. Small acts of kindness can make a huge difference to some who is uncomfortable. And you will stand out as a leader and friend who has compassion for others.
Always Choose Kindness Even If Others Are Not
Happy people are kind and positive. Unfortunately, unhappy people are often unable to extend kindness toward others because they don’t know how to show kindness to themselves.
Thus, you should always choose to be a good person who helps to make unhappy people feel better.
Be the person who sets an example. Do little things that could make a difference to unhappy, negative, and unkind people. Your simple, kind act or words could potentially be the best thing that has happened to that person today.
Since kindness is contagious, you might even help change a mindset or an attitude of someone who doesn’t realize they need to be a little kinder and more compassionate. Your small act of kindness will make the world a better place and you’ll feel better, too!
Always Choose Kindness Over Being Right
You run into opportunities to correct or challenge people all the time. Why do it? Being kind and non-judgmental is far more important than always being right.
When you have an opportunity to point out that someone is wrong, or someone has made a mistake, or even someone should be doing something a different way, ask yourself DOES IT REALLY MATTER?
Unfortunately, often times when we feel the need to be right or put down someone, it’s because of our ego. We want to prove something to others because it will make our ego feel good. But will it really? Is is really that important?
You run the risk of hurting someone’s feelings, or embarrassing someone, or even damaging a relationship. You could easily end up feeling worse than if you chose to be kind over being right.
Give it some thought before you make the wrong decision; it could have a negative impact on your inner peace.
Cultivate Your Kindness Instinct
Some people are more naturally compassionate, nurturing, and empathetic than others. It’s often easier for these people to be kinder and more understanding toward others.
But you can also cultivate your kindness abilities if it does not come naturally to you. You must intentionally redirect your energy and attention to notice what is good around you and think about how to respond to the beauty of humanity.
You might find that you gain great joy in these intentional acts and discover a new, more positive side of humanity.
Another way that you can cultivate kindness and compassion is through loving-kindness meditation. During your meditation practice, think about someone you love dearly. In your mind, send them wishes for love and wellness with simple thoughts such as May you feel safe… May you feel happiness… May you be be healthy.
Hold those thoughts in your heart and feel the warmth they bring to you. Then you can say loving-kindness meditation thoughts to yourself, as well.
Repeat this meditation for many people over time in your daily meditation practice and you’ll improve your self-compassion and empathy for others. You’ll also decrease negative emotions and self-criticism.
Throughout each day, look for ways to be kind toward others and yourself. Be generous with your smile and warm with your words. Be of service to someone in need. Practice kindness.
Think more about gratitude and appreciation. And at the end of the day, think about all the wonderful ways you elected to choose kindness.
Make it KINDNESS part of your personal growth and do something nice — for yourself and someone else — every single day. Kindness is a choice that benefits everyone.
Ways to Always Choose Kindness
Hopefully by now, you’ve thought of simple ways to choose kindness, as well as ways to cultivate kindness in your heart and soul. But here are some ideas that will make you feel good while making a positive impact on the lives of others.
- Smile at people
- Hold the door open
- give compliments freely
- speak to people who are alone
- express appreciation and gratitude
- listen actively to what people are saying
- pay it forward
- volunteer your time
- make donations
- spend time with animals in need
- practice random acts of kindness
- care for the elderly
- advocate for other people
- avoid gossip
- do not participate in excluding others
- practice self care and positive self-talk
- reflect on your kind gestures and how they made you feel
- meditate about your kind and compassionate heart
Inspirational Quotes about Choosing Kindness
Let these favorite inspirational quotes help you cultivate your spirit of kindness and compassion.
“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” ~ Princess Diana
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” ~ Lao Tzu
“No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.” ~ Amelia Earhart
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” ~ Mark Twain
“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. ” ~ Albert Schweitzer
Kindness is one of the keys to happiness! ~ Jay Shetty
Final Thoughts about Choosing Kindness
“When in doubt, always err on the side of kindness.“ This is a statement a former principal said to me one day when I was struggling with what to do in a difficult situation as an Assistant Principal.
The decision became much easier when I realized I was struggling with “rules” over “kindness.” In my heart, I knew the rules did not absolutely apply to the situation, so I chose kindness. I handled the situation with kindness and compassion and never questioned myself again.
Always choose kindness. It’s as simple as that — and as we’ve learned, it will make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you.
And remember, kindness makes your heart and soul happy.
You might also enjoy these related articles:
- What is Etiquette and Why is it Important?
- 19 Polite Ways to Say None of Your Business
- 160 Amazing Smile Quotes for a Brighter Life
Love to ALL! ~ Susan
