

This week, we’re going to focus on kindness, the simple act of doing something nice. Why are we focusing on kindness? Well as we saw in the lecture, the simple act of doing a random act of kindness, can come with a host of positive benefits. Doing nice stuff for others can increase our mood, and it can also increase our feelings of social connection.

Kindness is the simple act of doing something nice

How do you make the most of this activity? Well, you just gotta do nice stuff for people. Try to do at least one random active kindness a day, it could be something big like donating money or volunteering in your community. Or it can be something small like giving somebody a compliment or just doing something nice. As usual, we want you to track what you did, so get out there and do something nice, it’ll make you feel better than you expect.

Try to do at least one random act of kindness a day

This week we’re also going to focus on social connection. Why social connection? Well, as we’ve seen in class, being socially connected makes us happier. Turns out that the simple act of making a new social connection, talking to a stranger on a train, or even at a coffee shop can significantly increase our positive mood.

So, how do you make the most of this activity? We just want you to seek out more social connection, strike up a conversation with a friend, or grab lunch with someone you haven’t seen in awhile, or even strike up a fast conversation with a stranger, and then track that you did it. As we’ve seen, tracking will help us turn one act of social connection into a habit. So, get out there and find a friend or chat with somebody new. The simple act of making a social connection will make you happier than you expect.

When you practice random acts of kindness and connect with others you are also blessed with the opportunity to feel confident and clear about what you want and need. You get to learn to say your wants and needs in a loving, kind, clear way that doesn’t make you feel bad and doesn’t need to make anyone else feel bad.

Guess what – that’s putting your needs first! If people are triggered, which they will be, you don’t have to take it personally. #yougotthis