5 Easy Ways to Brighten Up Your Life Through Kindness October 18, 2021 – Posted in: Blog
Everyone wants to live a happy, exciting, fun-filled life. We all want to smile as much as possible, laugh just as much, and spend time doing the things that make us happy. Sometimes, though, everyday life can get a little dull. Going to the same classes at school again and again for an entire week quickly gets repetitive, and you find yourself wishing for the weekend on Monday morning. Luckily, brightening up even the most boring of days is easy, and above all, fun! Here are just a few ways that you can use acts of kindness to brighten up your life, as well as everyone’s around you!
Start With a Smile
Next time you walk down the hall at school, pay attention to what your face is doing. Are you making eye contact with the other students in the hall? Are you glued to your phone? Do you tend to stare at the floor? If you find yourself doing any of these, try swapping them for a smile. When you smile at other people, they often smile back, which is always a mood booster. Also, when people see you smiling at them, they know that you’re kind and friendly, and from that, maybe a friendship will form. In addition to all of these great benefits you can enjoy, you might make someone else’s day. You never know who’s in a bad mood or are going through something challenging, and your smile could fix that!
Prepare to Volunteer
Another way to brighten up your life is to become a reliable volunteer. This doesn’t mean working at the food pantry or the local library (although it can, and you might meet some great people there in addition to helping your community) but being there to lend a hand whenever someone needs it. When you volunteer to help, you improve the lives of the people around you and open yourself up to new opportunities. Let’s say, for example, your neighbor’s bike breaks in front of your house, and you help them walk it home. That neighbor might remember your kindness when their birthday comes around and invite you to their party. Or maybe you volunteer to join a game of four-square that doesn’t have enough people and meet your new best friends! These great things would never have happened if you hadn’t decided to be kind and helpful at just the right moment.
Be a Devoted Fan
As fun as playing kickball is by itself, it’s much better when the people on the sidelines are cheering for you. Spread that love and support by becoming a fan of your friends or classmates. Just like how a fan of a baseball player might go to every game to cheer on their favorite player, you can stop by your friend’s dance recital or your brother’s big football game to show your support. It will make your friend’s day to see a familiar face in the crowd! Just by showing up, you show your friends that the things they do are important to you as well and that you’re there to support them every step of the way. And, while you’re there, you might discover something remarkable. Maybe you’ll learn to love their hobby just as much as they do!
Patch Up Old Friendships
Friends will come and go throughout your life, but just because someone stops being your friend at one point doesn’t mean they never will be again. It’s never too late to apologize for something mean you might have said or done, and they’ll appreciate hearing that from you. Apologizing doesn’t ensure that they’ll become friends with you again, though, and that’s perfectly okay. You brightened their life, and hopefully your own as well, by doing something kind. That’s a success in my book. If they do want to be friends again, celebrate! The two of you were friends once for a reason, and now you can enjoy each other’s company even more. You’ll also have a friendship built on words of kindness, which is extra special.
Hand Out Compliments
Another way to bring a smile to someone’s face, and yours is at the beginning of the day or week, pick several compliments you want to try and give before the day or week is over. Start small, like one a day or three a week. Not only are you making other people’s days brighter, but you also have a fun goal to work towards, like a game. For an added challenge, try complimenting people that you don’t talk to very often. Once you’ve mastered the one compliment per day routine, boost your goal and try again. Can you compliment two people per day? Can you do three? One week, try to give everyone unique words of kindness that you haven’t used before. You might be rewarded with a compliment or two of your own or the beginnings of brand-new friendships!
By adding just, a couple of things to your everyday routine, you can easily brighten the lives of everyone around you. Remember that you are in no way limited to the suggestions we mentioned here; any act of kindness is sure to make someone’s day a little bit brighter. When you give kindness, you are sure to get it back. When you add that to the great feeling you get when you help someone else, that’s enough to make anyone’s week brighter. Who knows, you might inspire others to do acts of kindness of their own! You’re making the world a better place.