How To Be A Kindness Punk
Hello beautiful humans! How are you? I’m doing pretty good despite a couple of icky things that have happened in the last week. There were some things that transpired because of social media but guess what? Haters gonna hate and aside from unfriending and blocking those Negative Nellies, I am practicing deep breaths and kindness. I won’t lie though, I was initially a little rocked and unnerved by how brazen people are. Technology creates a lot of extra noise. Sometimes it’s overwhelming and easy to get caught up in the negative chatter. This is a positive post about kindness and how to rebel against anything that isn’t kind.
Are you wondering why I want to teach you to be a kindness punk? Am I losing my mind over here? Yes, yes I am but that’s a post for a different day. 😉 A punk is considered someone that is a bit of a rebel. Let’s talk about how we can be rebels, shall we? First of all, why on earth would I ask you to be a rebel after just talking about how things feel messy and negative? Because I think in this case, it’s good for humanity and we could all use a little extra goodness in our lives. I also think that when we feel emotionally lit up, we can shine our light into a world that can feel a bit dark at times, amiright? So let’s be rebels in the name of kindness but we can reframe that and call ourselves kindness punks instead.
Photo Credit: Magnolia Rain Photography
Are you starting to wonder what a kindness punk is? It’s a term that I heard from Lady Gaga. She describes herself as a kindness punk and in her words, “Punks…have a sort of reputation for being rebellious, right? So…I really view my career…as a rebellion against all the things in the world that I see to be unkind. Kindness heals the world. Kindness heals people.” #boom
Late last year, I listened to a podcast with Oprah + Lady Gaga. First off, I consider both of those women to be beautiful role models who shine their lights on the world. They use their platforms to spread stories that inspire and uplift others. Lady Gaga is a famous singer (in case you didn’t know #sarcasm) but she is also a huge advocate for kindness + mental health. Mental health is a pretty huge deal and completely underserved in my personal opinion. If someone who has a huge platform can step on that and use it for the better good of the world, I am proud to be on the listening committee.
Making Kindness A Priority
Kindness is always a priority for me. I am the person who smiles at people, I offer compliments, I strike up random conversations, the employees of local places know me (much to my husband’s dismay). My kids say that I talk too much but I just feel like human kindness goes a long way. Maybe someone is having a bad day and a kind word or smile from me can help them feel less sad or lonely.
According to The Emotion Machine, “Kindness is the state of caring about other people’s well-being and taking action to help make other people’s lives better and happier.” In honor of being kind, I found 10 articles that suggest how we can all be a part of the kindness punk chain (I made that part up because I just really love the term kindness punk but you get my point). Click on the article to be redirected to the original source. Feel free to share them across your social media channels because after all, sharing is caring!
10 Articles On Kindness
- 10 Ways To Be More Kind
- 30 Ways To Be Kind And Be Happier
- How To Rewire Your Brain To Be More Kind To Others
- What It Means To Be Kind
- What Is Kindness?
- 25 Ways To Be Kind
- The Importance Of Kindness
- Random Acts Of Kindness Quotes
- The Heart And Science Of Kindness
- The Benefits Of Creating A Culture Of Kindness In The Workplace
Did you know that being kind actually has health benefits? According to this article at Next Avenue, “even small acts of kindness, such as sharing a smile or holding the door for someone, give your immune system a boost, making you more resilient and less anxious or depressed.” They also share these 4 ways to start a kindness habit.
4 Ways to Start a Kindness Habit
- Make a list of people in your life who you feel need help or assistance in any way. You might not always be able to help, depending on their needs, but you might find that some people just need someone to talk to, so they know someone cares.
- As you go through your day, be alert to opportunities to be kind. These occur all the time but we often miss them because we have too much on our minds. When we make a decision to be alert to them, we notice many more.
- Think of five people in your life and make a list of all the reasons why you are grateful for their presence in your life. This will help you build a habit of thinking kindly.
- Try the seven-day kindness challenge: That means, do at least one act of kindness every day for seven days. Ground rules: Do something different each day; push yourself out of your comfort zone at least once and be sure one of your acts of kindness is anonymous — no one should ever find out who did it.
The way I see it, technology and social media give us all a platform. How we use that platform is up to us. I choose to use it to lift + inspire others. So tell me, how can you spread a little kindness today?
