Observing World Kindness Day

In a day when it’s all too easy to take out our frustrations on individuals or institutions via social media, there’s a movement afoot to turn the tables at a personal level.

World Kindness Day focuses on deeds and attitudes that should guide our behavior all 365 days of the year.

As pointed out by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, it’s a lesson we should have learned as preschoolers: be nice.

This Saturday, Nov. 13, has been set aside to encourage groups and individuals to go out of their way to be kind to others where ever we encounter them, at home, work, school or just in public in general.

The smallest act or word of encouragement can create a ripple effect that spreads far and wide.

DHHS passes on the following ideas from the World Kindness Movement:

-- Being kind doesn’t need to look or be extravagant. Sometimes the simplest things make the most significant difference.

-- Look for opportunities while you go through your day to infuse kindness into someone’s day.

-- Smile when you walk by others

-- Write positive messages on post-it notes and leave them for people to find

-- Call a relative you haven’t spoken to in a while

-- Tidy up around your house

-- Pick up trash you see on the ground outside and throw it in a garbage can

-- Hold the door open for someone

-- Chat with a stranger and ask them about their day

-- Pay for a stranger’s coffee or meal

-- Compliment someone

-- Send a positive or encouraging text to five people in your contacts

-- Surprise someone with flowers

-- Tell a family member or friend you love them

-- Write a note on the receipt at a restaurant for your server

-- Offer to help with someone’s errands

-- Give a surprise gift to someone you care about

-- Send a kind card or note to a friend

-- Surprise co-workers with home-baked treats

-- Plant a tree

-- Spend less time on your phone and more time with people you care about

-- Offer a classmate help with homework

-- Talk to someone new

-- Practice gratitude

-- Volunteer

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to be kind to yourself. Don’t judge yourself without mercy. We all deserve to be treated kindly, and that includes the harsh perfectionist in your head.