KINDNESS - A Tool to Improve Your Mental Health

Kindness is defined as doing something toward yourself and others, motivated by a genuine desire to make a positive difference. It helps reduce stress, brings a fresh perspective, and deepens friendships. Kindness to ourselves can help boost our self-esteem. It can even improve feelings of confidence and optimism.

Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistance, or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. Kindness is a topic of interest in philosophy, religion, and psychology. Kindness is one of the main topics in the Bible.

Small acts of kindness can bring a smile to others' lips and make them feel wanted and cared for and boost their morale. It makes you feel good and makes others feel better.

No act of kindness is wasted. Acts of kindness not only benefit those in receipt of kind words but science has proven that there are amazing health benefits for those performing those acts. Reported benefits to physical health include increased lifespan, more zeal, and controlling blood pressure. mental health benefits show increased feelings of community, empathy, compassion, and gratitude. some examples of kindness that can bring joy to the world are:

• Call a friend that you haven’t spoken to for a while

• Send a letter to a grandparent

• Send flowers to a friend

• Offer to pick up some groceries for your elderly neighbor

• Offer to babysit for a friend

• Tell your family members how much you love and appreciate them

• Help your parents with household chores

• Help someone who is depressed at work or in a relationship

• Make someone laugh

• Help with a household chore at home or for a friend

• Host an informal get-together and invite your neighbors to get to know each other

• Tell someone you know that you are proud of them

• Giving compliments

• Being respectful

• Love towards pets and animals

Kindness is most often taught from parents to children and is learned through observation and some direct teaching. Studies have shown that through programs and interventions, kindness can be taught and encouraged during the first 20 years of life. Further studies show that kindness interventions can help improve well-being with comparable results as teaching gratitude. Similar findings have shown that organizational-level teaching of kindness can improve the well-being of adults in college.

In the modern fast world, a section of society doesn’t have time for others, they are lost in their own small circle of unit family where their parents don’t have a respectable place, and some even are so selfish that they leave their parents in old age home for their happiness or freedom or independent life. They bring in a lot of arguments like there’s only one life and that they want to live that life independently and without the interference of elders. Of course, there may be nagging parents who trouble their grown-up children and their spouses which cannot be tolerated and so they may leave them for better places, though some regret their acts of rudeness later in life but may be too late to apologize and bring them back to their lives.

Acts of kindness that are taught by parents in early childhood may be forgotten when the same children grow up and start chasing their dreams in this competitive and challenging world where they want to be accepted and recognized among friends in the adopted cultural environment.

“What goes around comes around. Do bad, it will hit you ten times worse. Do good, it will come back a hundred times better.” It means we reap whatever we sow. These are very simple but powerful words if kept in mind will motivate us in being generous, kind, and helpful towards others. It is the belief of all religions and is advocated for the promotion of physical and mental wellness.

There are people and organizations that have come forward in helping and taking care of the downtrodden, sick, old age and deserted, orphans, and disabled in society. Such charitable organizations owned and run by different segments located in different parts of the country are doing a commendable job for the service of society.

We all need kindness and we all have the ability to be kinder. Even small acts of kindness can change the world and our own mental health to live a better life. After all, everyone wants to live a good happy, and peaceful life with their loved ones...