If you’re in the mood to help others, what better day than National Random Acts of Kindness Day?
The yearly event on February 17 is devoted to doing good actions for others. Since 1995, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has observed National Random Acts of Kindness Day.
With so much negativity in the news and on social media, the organisation says its goal for Friday and beyond is to make kindness the norm.
“When we hear, see, or read about others doing wonderful things, we feel good, and we want to make it more of our life,” said Brooke Jones, vice president of the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.
“There are horrific things going on all over the country, but there are also incredibly wonderful things going on; it’s just a matter of what you choose to focus on,” Jones told USA TODAY.
Here’s all you need to know about Random Acts of Kindness Day and how you can get involved:
What is the origin of Random Acts of Kindness Day?
According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, the Random Acts of Kindness movement is said to have started over 40 years ago in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Anne Herbert, a journalist and writer, is credited with coining the term “practise random kindness and mindless acts of beauty,” which appeared in the old CoEvolution Quarterly newspaper in 1982. The essay inspired a compassion movement that extended throughout the community.
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According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, the phrase’s roots may be traced back to 1991, when a San Francisco lady discovered Herbert’s sentence painted on a warehouse wall and notified her husband and a seventh-grade teacher about it.
The instructor told his students about it, one of them was the kid of a San Francisco Chronicle reporter, who eventually wrote about Herbert and her famous line.
When Reader’s Digest published the tale, editors at Berkeley, California-based Conari Press reproduced it and eventually published “Random Acts of Kindness” in February 1993.
Last year, readers were inspired to organise local Random Acts of Kindness days.
According to the foundation, February 1995 marked the inaugural National Random Acts of Kindness Day, which began in the Bay Area in 1995 to assist future Valentine’s Day events.
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How to Participate in Random Acts of Kindness
According to Jaclyn Lindsey, co-founder and CEO of Kindness.org, being nice in the most effective ways may begin with modest and simple deeds.
To help “create a nicer society,” the organisation investigates the science and psychology of the advantages of kindness.
“Focus about what’s in front of you, and let go of the idea that it has to be a great spectacular gesture,” Lindsey said.
“Compliment someone, or reach out to someone who means much to you and explain why.”
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Additional acts of kindness:
Recognize someone who deserves to be praised.
Assist a senior citizen with a task.
Drop quarters in a laundry or vending machine.
Give blood and send a supportive email
Give gently used books to a library.
Convey your appreciation to a coworker who is going unrecognised.
How does compassion benefit your health?
Did you know that doing acts of kindness for others has physiological benefits? According to research, being compassionate helps reduce stress, despair, anxiety, pain, and blood pressure.
“Kindness can boost your immune system and minimise social anxiety,” Lindsey told USA TODAY.
According to Lindsey, being nice may earn leaders respect and is one of the most desirable qualities among love relationships. According to Lindsey, whose business believes in purposeful acts of kindness, the ripple effect of compassion affects others as well.
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Source: https://www.usatoday.com/