How to Make Kindness the Norm

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This week is Random Acts of Kindness week, the ideal opportunity to share some thoughts on why one of our values here at the Business Wellbeing Club is being kind and compassionate to ourselves and others.

In this blog we look at why kindness is good for us and how we can incorporate kindness both in business and to ourselves on a daily basis.

What is Kindness & Compassion?

Kindness is a positive action: something that helps with social connections and typically allows us to empathise with others.

By being kind, we are showing qualities of affection, warmth, and playfulness. It not only helps in the well-being of the recipient but makes us feel good too.

The School of Kindness says: “Kindness is more than just a ‘nice thing to do’. It plays a crucial role in our well-being. Research has shown that kindness improves our physical and mental health – whether we’re giving kindness, receiving kindness or even just witnessing kindness. How amazing is that?”

Compassion on the other hand is an emotion.

Brene Brown’s book ‘Atlas of the Heart’ was probably one of the most popular books we discussed at the Business Book Club and if you are looking for a definition of compassion, hers is one of the best.

Brown writes, “Compassion is the daily practice of recognising and accepting our shared humanity so that we treat ourselves and others with loving-kindness, and we take action in the face of suffering.”

Why Kindness is Good for Us

Doing an act of kindness benefits the person who receives that act. By being kind to someone we’re also building social bonds and improving relationships with that person.

And kindness is also good for our own health.

Kindness releases two hormones that make us feel good. That feeling of warmth when we are being kind produces oxytocin. This hormone helps reduce blood pressure and protects the heart and by reducing levels of free radicals and inflammation slows the ageing process.

Experiencing kindness also releases dopamine which is a hormone strongly associated with pleasure, so kindness can make us happier.

5 Ways to show kindness in business

A search on the internet will give us plenty of random acts of kindness for us to do in our community, family and especially in schools. But how can we as business owners, often working from home, be kind to our business colleagues?

Here are just 5 random acts of kindness to offer our clients, business associates and other business owners.

1. Set up a 1 to 1 with someone you haven’t been in contact with for a while, such as a former client, supplier or fellow business networker. Actively listen to how their business is developing and find out how you can help them. Having your own business can sometimes be lonely, so reaching out for an informal chat can really boost well-being
2. Show appreciation for another small business by writing a review on LinkedIn, TripAdvisor, Google or Facebook
3. Share a tip – share a top tip on your social media or at your networking group. This might be a time-saving app or a tip for being more visible on social media.
4. Give back – invite someone along to your favourite networking group (obviously I would say come to the BWC), write a blog for someone who has helped you, give a referral or make a link from your blog to another business.
5. Support other small businesses by spending some money with them. It might be to have meetings at an independent coffee shop rather than a chain, or get your printing done locally rather than online.

How to be kind to ourselves

As a business-owner learning to be kind to ourselves is important for our physical and mental health. If we don’t look after our health we’re likely to experience burn-out and our business suffers.

Here are 5 ways we can be kind to ourselves.

1. Stop scrolling – if you keep on answering business queries outside of your work times, switch off your smartphone. Put automatic answers on your Messenger or WhatsApp so you don’t have to answer them until it is convenient for you.
2. Make time for yourself– even just 10 minutes a day where you do what you want to do – take a bath, read a book, write in your journal, do some stretches.
3. Move your body – find some activity that works for you. Dancing in the kitchen whilst cooking, walking rather than taking the car, taking the stairs instead of a lift, do some stretches at your desk. Make fitting exercise into your routine as easy as possible.
4. Practice Gratitude – before you go to sleep, mentally list what you are grateful for that day.
5. Give yourself a pat on the back. Focus on the positives and think every day about what you have done well.

Will you be taking part in Random Acts of Kindness Week?

Read more about Random Acts of Kindness Week here and the School of Kindness here