38 Random Acts of Kindness
It's one thing to tell our kids how they should act but it's a whole different ball game when we show them. I'm not one to swear all the time but I know so many people who do and as soon as they have kids, of course they need to altar what they say so their kids don't, one day, mimic their words.
That's exactly what I'm talking about here, but even more.
Instead of just eliminating the negatives from our lives, in hopes that our kids don't catch onto those negatives and mimic them themselves, why don't we take it a step further and do more kinds things in life, be more gracious, be polite to every single human we come across and really, just live even more positively than we did before we had kids?
It's one thing to eliminate the negatives and it's another to add more positive into our lives and into their lives. Because the more our kids see us being gracious and kind and gentle and the more our kids see us acting kind toward others (strangers included), the more they're going to mimic those actions.
And that's exactly the kind of human I want to raise.
So I've come up with a list of 38 random acts of kindness and over the next 38 days, I'm going to post one each day on Instagram. But here's the thing -- If it's not something you feel compelled to do, then don't do it. This is not about completing a checklist and saying "Woohoo! I'm a nicer person since I did it all." It's about creating a more beautiful world, a more perfect world, creating light where there is so much darkness and most of all, leading our children by example.
And you'll notice that not all of these random acts of kindness are geared toward just others -- some are geared right toward you, because self love and self kindness is just as important as anything else.
So I encourage you to follow along when you feel compelled to and really just use this as a guide for life. Your kids aren't going to turn into perfect humans in just 38 days and neither are you. So let's grow together and together we can make this world a better place.
38 Random Acts of Kindness
1. Pay for the person behind you in the drive thru line (Starbucks, fast food, etc)
2. Text a friend out of the blue
3. Tell your spouse you appreciate them and why you appreciate them
4. Send someone a BrightBox out of the blue
5. Leave money at a vending machine
6. Bake cookies for a neighbor
7. Give a stranger a compliment
8. Help someone bring their groceries to the car (a mom, an elderly person, etc)
9. Offer to cook dinner for a mama friend
10. Leave a nice, anonymous note in a mailbox.
11. Put a surprise note in your spouse's car or in your kid's lunchbox
12. Write a thank you note to your local firefighters, police and servicemen
13. Give something to the homeless (water, snacks, a sandwich, etc)
14. Write down three things you love about yourself...you need to serve yourself too!
15. Donate old toys or furniture or clothes that you don't use anymore
16. Leave your mailman a thank you note and some cookies, snacks, water or baked goods!
17. Let your spouse win a disagreement, no questions asked.
18. Let your spouse sleep in an extra hour or go to bed an hour early
19. Leave an anonymous happy note on a co workers desk
20. Leave a happy note on a car in the parking lot
21. Put your phone away for the night
22. Pray for someone you don't usually pray for
23. Hold the door open unusually long for someone
24. Take your family, friend or spouse on a surprise outing
25. Send flowers for no occasion at all or bring them to an elderly home
26. Do your spouses "duties" -- taking out the trash, laundry, making the beds, putting the kids to bed
27. Mow your neighbors lawn
28. Let the person behind you in line go first (the grocery store, the coffee shop, the bank, etc)
29. Let someone merge in front of you onto the freeway
30. Put a positive message on a sticky note and leave it in a public bathroom
31. Tell a manager about a wonderful employee
32. Refrain from any negative talk or thoughts toward yourself
33. Ask a friend if they need any help (cleaning, cooking, watching their kids, walking the dog, etc)
34. Bring your neighbor's cans out on trash day
35. Fill the parking meter when you leave
36. Be the one to add a tip to the coffee shop tip jar
37. Give up that great parking spot
38. Give up your seat on the bus, train or in a self seating restaurant
39. Smile when you feel like frowning the most
