The purest acts of kindness are the ones we do spontaneously. Whether it’s pulling up someone who’d stumbled or picking up something somebody dropped, we do these deeds instantly and without much thought because we’re all naturally kind.
Here are some of the most common things we do and should keep on doing to show kindness to other people.
Hold doors.
It doesn’t even have to be a grand gesture of pulling a door open, standing at the side, waiting, and waving someone to come in. You can just open a door, go in, and hold the door for the next person. It doesn’t take much effort but gives a solid demonstration of how humans care for each other.
Holding doors are, of course, just a representation of the courtesy and thoughtfulness we can show strangers every day, which we can also manifest through carrying people’s loads, letting pedestrians cross, and giving others a firm tug to lift them off the ground.
It doesn’t even have to be a grand gesture of pulling a door open, standing at the side, waiting, and waving someone to come in. You can just open a door, go in, and hold the door for the next person. It doesn’t take much effort but gives a solid demonstration of how humans care for each other.
Holding doors are, of course, just a representation of the courtesy and thoughtfulness we can show strangers every day, which we can also manifest through carrying people’s loads, letting pedestrians cross, and giving others a firm tug to lift them off the ground.
Listen.
We all aim to be nice people and listen attentively as our friends vent, rant, or gush. We should extend this courtesy to strangers as well, because when somebody you don’t know starts talking to you, you can very well be sure that person needs someone to talk to, or at the very least, has something to say that must absolutely be heard.
There are times when your advice or opinion would be sought, but most of the time, people just need someone to listen and understand and be there with them and for them.
Smile and say hello.
Most people would wait for the other person to smile or at the very least make eye contact before smiling and saying hello. If everybody did that, we would all just be minding our own business. So let’s throw caution to the wind and be the first one to greet somebody.
The worst thing that can happen is that the other person would pay you no mind, and though it may sting at first, you’d realize that regardless of the outcome, smiling and saying hello to strangers is the kinder, more civilized thing to do.
Most people would wait for the other person to smile or at the very least make eye contact before smiling and saying hello. If everybody did that, we would all just be minding our own business. So let’s throw caution to the wind and be the first one to greet somebody.
The worst thing that can happen is that the other person would pay you no mind, and though it may sting at first, you’d realize that regardless of the outcome, smiling and saying hello to strangers is the kinder, more civilized thing to do.
Help.
Give a helping hand to whoever needs it, be they friends or strangers. Whether it’s helping someone out with carrying their groceries or lending your strength in pushing a stalled car for a jumpstart, giving assistance to others works both ways because it also makes us feel useful, and knowing that we’d been able to make someone else’s life easier gives us a warm sense of fulfillment.
Compliment.
Yes, that flirty you-look-hot quip we say at the club to people we’re attracted to does somehow count, but we can do a lot better than that. We can give compliments to people without wanting sex or any other kind of favor in return.
“What a cute little baby you have.”
“You guys are such a cute couple.”
“I love your shirt.”
“Hey, good job on that new account today.”
“I like what you did to the place.”
We all have given and received compliments without any agenda, other than to express our appreciation and admiration. We should all do more of that.
Share.
We share our bag of chips, fries, and even our Netflix passwords to our friends. We share our knowledge with strangers when we give directions, our expertise when we do volunteer work, and our material possessions when we donate to charity.
We even hear of grand gestures of people sharing their wealth with the poor, spending their time feeding the homeless, and sometimes, giving literally a part of themselves by becoming an organ donor to ailing strangers.
But the most precious commodity we can share are emotions. Because as the old proverb goes, shared joy is double joy while shared sorrow is half sorrow.
Sympathize and empathize.
Who knew that a simple mirroring of feelings can make us feel better, more connected, more valid, and more valued?
Feeling excited like your friend does about their new job, being devastated like your cousin is on their bitter breakup, and seething at the brat who’d hurt your child are all manifestations of how we sympathize and empathize with other people, getting affected by their affairs even if it has everything to do with them and absolutely nothing to do with us.
We feel sympathy and empathy naturally, so our act of kindness lies in letting them know how we feel, and perhaps in doing whatever we can to ease their burden, or in the case of feeling their joy, joining them in their celebration.
Give a helping hand to whoever needs it, be they friends or strangers. Whether it’s helping someone out with carrying their groceries or lending your strength in pushing a stalled car for a jumpstart, giving assistance to others works both ways because it also makes us feel useful, and knowing that we’d been able to make someone else’s life easier gives us a warm sense of fulfillment.
Compliment.
Yes, that flirty you-look-hot quip we say at the club to people we’re attracted to does somehow count, but we can do a lot better than that. We can give compliments to people without wanting sex or any other kind of favor in return.
“What a cute little baby you have.”
“You guys are such a cute couple.”
“I love your shirt.”
“Hey, good job on that new account today.”
“I like what you did to the place.”
We all have given and received compliments without any agenda, other than to express our appreciation and admiration. We should all do more of that.
Share.
We share our bag of chips, fries, and even our Netflix passwords to our friends. We share our knowledge with strangers when we give directions, our expertise when we do volunteer work, and our material possessions when we donate to charity.
We even hear of grand gestures of people sharing their wealth with the poor, spending their time feeding the homeless, and sometimes, giving literally a part of themselves by becoming an organ donor to ailing strangers.
But the most precious commodity we can share are emotions. Because as the old proverb goes, shared joy is double joy while shared sorrow is half sorrow.
Sympathize and empathize.
Who knew that a simple mirroring of feelings can make us feel better, more connected, more valid, and more valued?
Feeling excited like your friend does about their new job, being devastated like your cousin is on their bitter breakup, and seething at the brat who’d hurt your child are all manifestations of how we sympathize and empathize with other people, getting affected by their affairs even if it has everything to do with them and absolutely nothing to do with us.
We feel sympathy and empathy naturally, so our act of kindness lies in letting them know how we feel, and perhaps in doing whatever we can to ease their burden, or in the case of feeling their joy, joining them in their celebration.