Making Kindness The Norm

Everyday, I see reasons to believe we live in an unkind generation. An unkind generation with unkind people, an unkind economy and so many other things. Most people just want to "dey for who dey for you" (as it's said in this part of the world), and then they actually forget to "dey for" the people that really matter in their lives. I get that we all have busy lives and stuff, but they say "If you don't have something kind to say, then don't say anything at all". I honestly think people in this day and time should heed that saying more often.

 People are going through A LOT. There are so many pressures in the society and life in general. So many things to deal with these days. You know nothing about the next guy's struggles, no matter how much you think you do. You can't know unless you've been in those shoes before, experiencing those things as THAT person. You can only have an inkling of what it feels like.

 So, BE KIND!!! Honestly, folks. This can not be stressed enough.

 These days, I feel the pressure comes from ALL angles - Social media and the need for validation by possessing some certain material things, seems like the biggest pressure sometimes. Pressure from other life struggles like managing your time, trying to excel at your job or school and so on. Even trying to meet up with just being human daily takes so much effort!!! (I don't know about you, but it does for me. Some people have their shit together and honestly, lucky them!)

 Like I said, there are so many pressures to put up with every single day, and you know nothing about the next guy's, so please BE NICE. I'm definitely not asking you to hand out flowers to everyone you meet everyday, or anything that crazy. Just with your little words and actions. TREAT PEOPLE THE WAY YOU'D LIKE TO BE TREATED. And I'm sure you'd love to be treated nicely. (If not, you have an issue that's a topic for another day). 

 Factually speaking, research by experts at MHealthy has shown that being kind helps to improve your own mood and also enhances your ability to face daily challenges. Sounds great right? So, what exactly is stopping you from dishing out a few kind acts daily? It's obviously beneficial to YOU too.

 The act of kindness leads to lots of good things like improved relationships, great physical and mental health, happiness, an improved self-esteem, great future success, and even compassion. And don't we want all these things for our families, friends, communities and even the world at large?

 I have a friend who suffers from major anxiety sometimes. I've heard him talk about how doing nice things to/for others helps take the focus off himself. Of course, there are several other methods to reduce anxiety, like prescription medication, meditating, a couple of natural remedies, and even exercise. But I've heard how the most natural way is simply being kind - both to yourself and to others.

 In the daily hustle and bustle of our lives, each person faces some sort of stress factor everyday. It may start from deciding what to wear to work each day or sitting in traffic each morning on your way out for the day. Our abilities to overcome and cope with these stressful situations, can be helped by being kind to other people and also helps to reduce the stress factor by far. 

 All through the lockdown last year, I watched people (and myself, sometimes) go through stages of depression, anxiety, immense sadness, and other stuff which mostly stemmed from comments or actions from other people. Even things that were all over social media last year triggered these feelings and more. I learned to log off when it all became too much (both from social media and people). But I discovered that some people didn't do either. They kept feeding their minds with the negative influences and things that made it all worse. And honestly, I think that's being unfair to yourself.

 You owe it to YOU to turn away from all these things when they start messing with you and affecting you in the wrong manner. I talked about the power of the mind and how you need to guard yourself against negativity in ALL forms, because the human mind can only take so much. And then the mind caves in to all this negative stuff at a point.

 I keep reiterating the fact that SELF CARE IS NOT SELFISH, and this involves staying away from unkind things, words or even actions that could disturb your mental peace and your soul. 

 But, as much as you may know these things, the next guy may not. So please, be kind to him/her.  You'd make them feel good even in a little way and in turn making yourself feel good too. Let's try to MAKE KINDNESS THE NORM. 

 Do something kind to/for someone today. Stop this "hard guy" and mean life you may be living (The last statement was definitely directed to me too). No matter how little it may be. BE KIND AND NICE. Make someone feel good today through your words and actions. 

 Maya Angelou once said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel". 

 If you have performed an act of kindness, which made you feel good about yourself, please share in the comments below!!! 

Thank you❤️