words by Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Lately, I have been thinking about kindness and niceness and how there is a difference between the two. I think the best example I can come up with is that a nice person might not tell you there is food between your teeth (wanting to spare you the embarrassment) but a kind person will tell you, even though it is awkward and you might be embarrassed. In my life I aspire to be kinder. I think that I am pretty much always nice, but kindness is trickier. At almost 40 and having spent the past 9 years living alone, I can definitely be selfish and set in my ways. I like things how I like them, and can be a little rigid!
That being said, my love language is definitely acts of service (have you taken the quiz? It’s fascinating!) and when someone does something nice for me, I melt a little bit. With friendships, with dating, with any relationship! I try to take the time to remember to be thoughtful and do little things for the people in my life: sending flowers for a friend’s birthday, picking up the phone when I’m thinking about someone, giving little gifts here and there.
Little Acts of Kindness
Here are some acts of kindness (big and small) that have inspired me recently. I would love to hear some of your favorites in the comments section.
–
A girlfriend was having a stressful call with an insurance company while she waited in line for the coffee. When she pulled up to pay, the car in front of her had bought her coffee. This is such a nice and easy thing to do for a stranger, whether you are in a car or on foot.
–
My boyfriend and I got stuck in a ton of traffic getting back from Mexico and I missed my 1pm flight out of San Diego. The next flight wasn’t until 10pm. He changed his schedule around to stay with me. We got wine and snacks at a local bar, did some work, read, talked, hung out for seven hours. I insisted that he just go (he had a three hour drive home!) but it meant the world to me that he stayed with me.
One of my favorite things about him is how thoughtful he is. He does a lot of nice little things like bringing me coffee in the morning, stocking the fridge with green juice when I visit… fixing the pillows for us when we are watching a movie and my neck is suddenly in a strange position. Those little things add up and make me feel really cared for. When I think about relationships, I think I’d prefer lots of little acts of kindness vs. big grand gestures.
–
When I work with a brand and they also offer to send product to my head of partnerships (or when I had an assistant, my assistant!). It’s just thoughtful. I had another brand offer to send things to my mom. Last week, Simon & Schuster sent me two copies of the new Alice Hoffman book because they know it’s my mom’s favorite book.
–
A blogger girlfriend and I were driving down to Georgia for a work event and her car broke down about an hour and a half outside of Charleston. Her husband came and brought us his car (and dealt with towing the other one) so that we could still go on the trip.
How do you strive to be kinder? What are some of your favorite acts of kindness?
I am absolutely here for this blog post sweetie!
Love this so much!! We should all strive to be kinder. ❣️
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Last week I was feeling really homesick (I recently moved from Oregon to Texas alone), and I texted a friend to share those feelings. The next day she texted me with a flight booked to come visit me here. Its one of the most thoughtful and generous things someone has done for me! I think the biggest difference between being nice and being kind is action. Its easy to treat people nicely, but taking that extra step to do something for another person is how we show kindness.
I went thru a McDonald’s drive thru. They lady who took my order, had the nicest voice & song in her voice. The song, “I’m loving it”, yes the Mcdonald’s jingle. I was having a bad morning, made my whole day. I go back to hear the voice of a kind stranger whenever i can. We all need positive people like this in everyone’s live.
I live in Chicago but one of my best friends in FL is an ER nurse. Understandably she is so overwhelmed with everything going on right now. I ordered a bunch of subs and other snacks and had my mom deliver them to the hospital for my friend and her coworkers! My mom said they were so appreciative!
Yesss that is so nice. We love pizza, bagels (donuts get brought constantly,not gonna turn them down still), chipotle catering etc.
The more people you know that get vaccinated also helps immensely, if you’re able to educate/try with those you know who are hesitant {not only do you protect them, you in turn save severely Ill heart attack/trauma/etc patients who can’t get an ICU bed rn by not taking that bed for yourself, plus those around you and in passing}.
It really is awkward to tell someone about food stuck in their teeth but I would rather someone told me. I once told a teacher she might want to check her nose (really, really awkward). I try to treat people how I want to be treated. I love that your guy did that for you. Your friend’s hubby sounds awesome. The little gestures really mean a lot. I like to compliment people when I’m out or hold the door for someone. You never know how little acts of kindness can make someone feel.
This is such a lovely post. I would also encourage you to provide attribution for the quote on the sign in the photo accompanying this post. “Be kind. Be calm. Be Safe.” was originated by the amazing Dr. Bonnie Henry in her regular media briefings. She has been an utter hero in the management of Covid-19 and it would be so wonderful to see her words attributed here.
Thanks!
Oh I had no idea, thanks for telling me. Updating now 🙂