Thanks for joining us for the first episode of our 24-part podcast series on Character Strengths. In each of these episodes we will take a deep-dive into one of the strengths in order to recognise, utilise and celebrate it in our daily lives. We hope that this series will support you, your family and your community as you navigate this new normal.
To read further research or to complete your free Character Strengths survey, visit VIA Character, and please feel free to get in touch with us with any questions or feedback.
Today's spotlight is on Kindness. Below is a summary of key resources and ideas included.
KINDNESS
Generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love, niceness
- Caring for others through helpful and generous actions.
- The pervasive tendency to be nice to other people, to be compassionate and concerned about their welfare.
Kindness is a strength which is closely related to other strengths of Humanity, including Social Intelligence and the Capacity to Love and be Loved.
These strengths are interpersonal, and are about building and maintaining strong relationships with others. What does a focus on Kindness look like in your world today? Can you ask the other members of your household to look out for and share examples of kindness, care and generosity?
SOME SUGGESTED KINDNESS ACTIVITIES
- Plan kindness activities for the day, and have a chat over dinner about the ways you saw or used kindness today.
- With younger people, plan something they could do to be kind to someone in their community. Write or draw about this.
- Think about a person who has been kind to them and draw this, maybe as a comic, or act it out as a play, or film it to show to family.
- For teenagers - create a list of all the kind organisations they can think of or find online. Think about kindness in the world today, find examples of people acting with kindness and generosity.
- Be creative and think about a role model for kindness – maybe someone they know, or a character in a movie or a book. Make up a profile for this person with pictures, quotes, examples.
- Think back over the last 24 hours. Where have you seen acts of kindness, altruism or generosity?
- Try and practice some self-kindness today; consider how you can be compassionate and mindful of your own needs.
- Try a Loving-Kindness meditation.
TRY THESE THREE THINGS
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Book
The Yin and Yang of Self-Compassion: Cultivating Kindness and Strength in the Face of Difficulty, Kristin Neff -
TED Talk
Kindness, Orly Wahba -
Website
Random Acts of Kindness