7 ways to brighten someone’s day
Tiny yet thoughtful gestures that make the world a better place.
Want to help others and invite more joy into your life? Doing kind things for others floods your body with feel-good hormones – just like the ones you get from runner’s high.
Try these random acts of kindness to brighten someone’s day, as well as your own.
1. Call a friend or family member
Call a friend or family member that you haven’t connected with in a while. Let them know you’re thinking of them and spend some time listening to their latest news. In today’s strange and busy world, the gift of time is one of the greatest gifts of all.
2. Support a local business
Do you know of any business owners, either within your friend group, family, or wider community? Show your support by sharing the business on social media or leaving a kind review online. Running a business is hard, and your support will mean the world to the owner.
3. Smile at a stranger
Smiling – and seeing someone else smile – is wonderful for the brain. Smiling creates a positive feedback loop to the brain, which reinforces feelings of joy. The simple act of smiling at a stranger when going for your daily walk or run, is one of the easiest ways to make people feel good – and it’s completely free.
4. Send someone a handwritten note
Next time you go for a walk, pop a handwritten note in a friend or family member’s postbox to show gratitude for someone in your life who has helped you recently. There’s something so heartwarming about receiving a handwritten letter in the mail, especially when it’s unexpected.
5. Listen to a friend in need
We all know of at least one person who is going through a tough time. See if you can carve out some time to call them and listen to how they’re feeling. Listening to them will help them feel heard, understood, and supported.
6. Help a colleague
If you sense a colleague is stressed out, look for ways to help. This could be as big as staying online late to help someone reach a huge deadline or as small as taking a few tasks off of their to-do list. Any random act of kindness will brighten their day.
7. Give someone a sincere compliment
Send someone a message and give them a sincere, heartfelt compliment. Try to avoid appearance-based compliments and instead tell them that they’re doing an exceptional job at something important to them – for example, parenting, work, friendship, a hobby. Anything that you know will make them beam with happiness.
