Research shows that helping others can be good for our mental health.
Helping others reduces stress, improves emotional well-being, and can even benefit physical health. In short, doing good does good for you.
Random acts of kindness are often seen as small gestures, but they carry more impact than people expect. They support not only the person receiving the act, but also the person offering it.
It is essential to look out for each other in our communities. This is how we support and maintain stronger mental health for everyone. If you do nothing else today, keep an eye out for an opportunity to help someone, or take a moment to notice how it feels when someone helps you.
Why Random Acts of Kindness Matter for Mental Health
Doing something kind for someone else does not require a lot of time or money. It is often the smallest actions that create the biggest shift in how someone feels.
There is also a measurable response behind it. Acts of kindness are linked to what is sometimes called a “helper’s high,” a positive emotional state that comes from helping others. According to the Cleveland Clinic, helping others can reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
This is part of why random acts of kindness matter. They create a connection, even in brief moments, and that connection has a real effect on mental health.
50 Random Acts of Kindness you can do today are:
- Call a friend that you haven’t spoken to for a while.
- Send a letter to a grandparent or family member.
- Send flowers to a friend.
- Offer to pick up some groceries for your elderly neighbor.
- Send someone a handwritten note.
- Offer to babysit for a friend.
- Walk your friend’s dog.
- Tell your family members how much you love and appreciate them.
- Help your parents with household chores.
- Help a friend get active.
- Make someone laugh.
- Offer to cook for a friend or family member.
- Make a cup of tea for a friend or family member.
- Help with a household chore at home or for a friend.
- Host an informal get together and invite your neighbors to get to know each other.
- Tell someone you know that you are proud of them.
- Tell someone you know why you are thankful for them.
- Send a motivational text to a friend who is struggling.
- Send someone you know a joke to cheer them up.
- Send someone you know a picture of a cute animal.
- Send an inspirational quote to a friend.
- Send an interesting article to a friend.
- Put a surprise note or drawing on someone’s desk.
- Contact someone you haven’t seen in a while and arrange to meet face-to-face.
- Engage in conversation with someone when checking out.
- Spend time playing with your pet.
- Sign up to do volunteer work in your local community.
- Reach out to spend time with a friend, family member or neighbor who is experiencing loneliness.
- Declutter and take items to a charity shop.
- Make and send a care package to someone who needs it.
- Make a donation to a charity.
- Offer to pick up a friend or family member from work.
- Make a cup of tea for your colleagues.
- Get to know a new staff member.
- Lend your ear - listen to someone who is having a bad day.
- Say good morning.
- Bake a cake for friends or family.
- Give praise to your colleague for something they’ve done well.
- If it’s raining, lend someone your umbrella.
- Take someone out for lunch instead of eating at your desk.
- Give up your seat to an elderly, disabled or pregnant person.
- Let someone go in front of you at the supermarket.
- Take a minute to help someone who is lost.
- Have a conversation with someone who is experiencing homelessness.
- Help a mother carrying her stroller down the stairs or hold the door open for her.
- Let a fellow driver merge into your lane.
- Pick up trash lying around in the street.
- Smile and say hello to people you may pass every day but have never spoken to before.
- Return a lost item to its owner.
- Pop into a coffee shop and ask to pay for a coffee for them to give to someone later that day for free.
Random Acts of Kindness and Hack Decks®
Many of the ideas included here are not included in our Random Acts of Kindness Deck. These are additional ideas and may help you think of something to do for someone else during the day. When we do kind acts for others, we feel good about ourselves and experience a "helper's high." This is actually our brain chemicals that experience a positive rush of feelings when we show kindness to others.
A Small Action That Creates a Ripple Effect
Doing something kind for someone else is a small act, but it does not stay small.
Each act creates a ripple. One moment leads to another, and over time those moments begin to shape how people treat each other.
Random acts of kindness are not complicated. They are simple choices made throughout the day.
No act of kindness goes unnoticed. When you share it, you give someone else a reason to do the same.
