Kindness 101: 5 choices you can make this week.
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The content will continue to be the same. I appreciate your patience until we move back into Sunday rhythms.
Hello friend! 👋
If you’ve joined us from LinkedIn, a warm welcome from the Super Sunday community - it’s good to have you! 🙌
Today, we’re talking about something simple yet transformative — kindness.
Kindness has the power to uplift not only those around you but also yourself.
It strengthens connections, deepens empathy, and even heals emotional wounds. But kindness isn’t just about what we give to others — it’s also about how we treat ourselves.
Let’s dive straight in.
1. Build awareness
(define the concept)
Kindness is a core part of positive psychology.
Research shows that small acts of kindness have a ripple effect, boosting well-being not just for the recipient but also for the person giving. Kindness stimulates feelings of connection and compassion, releasing oxytocin—the hormone that builds trust and lowers stress.
But kindness extends beyond outward acts — it starts with self-compassion.
How often do we criticize ourselves harshly for small mistakes or setbacks? Treating ourselves with kindness, practicing self-forgiveness, and showing compassion toward our own struggles are just as important as being kind to others.
Self-compassion helps us bounce back from challenges, builds resilience, and strengthens our overall emotional stamina.
2. Make these choices:
(decisions/actions to bring it to life)
Random acts of kindness:
The more you practice something, the better at it you get. Randomly sending an appreciating note to a colleague, or holding the door for someone, are simple acts you can start with.
Practice self-compassion:
When you make a mistake, speak to yourself as you would a close friend. Avoid self-criticism and instead ask, "What can I learn from this?"
Be fully present:
Attention is the most valualbe resource. Giving someone your full attention is a gift and an act of kindness. In conversations, put away your phone and focus entirely on the person in front of you.
Forgive yourself and others:
Practice empathy by imagining what the other person might have been going through. Forgiving frees your mind and heart to move forward.
Whenever you can, donate:
Find items you no longer use and give them to someone who could benefit from them. This could be clothes, books, or even your time through helping.
3. Build them in a system:
(using the science of habit and willpower to make it consistent)
At the end of the day, reflect on your small acts of kindness, both toward others and yourself.
How did these acts make you feel?
Did showing compassion for yourself help ease stress or disappointment?
Write down one area where you can be kinder to yourself, and one area where you can extend kindness to someone else tomorrow.
Remember, kindness starts within, and when we’re kind to ourselves, we have even more to give to others.
Thanks for reading!
Have a Super Sunday! ⚡️
With much joy,
Hashim
PS. From my experience, guided journals offer the best approach to building these habits.
For this reason, I am developing a journal that covers all the points I talk about here and packages it in a step-by-step process that is both simple and fun (so it can be consistent).
Click here if you want to be the first to get notified when this is available.