Kindness Matters!

Today is day 2 of 31 Days of Healthy Ways to Enjoy the Holidays More.  Today’s tip is for you to do something nice for someone else, every day!

Studies show that we reap health benefits from doing good.  Our genes actually can tell the difference between being happy because we just bought a fabulous sweater and being happy because we helped a little old lady cross the street!  Give your genes and your mood a little healthy boost by doing simple kind things more often.  Smile at strangers (I love doing this because it throws people off.  I get looks back like “Are you hitting on me?” &  “Are you a crazy lady?”.  Good stuff), buy a coffee for the person behind you in starbucks or pay the toll for the person behind you, spend an hour creating holiday cards for soldiers, volunteer for a shift at your local soup kitchen, organize a can drive for your local food pantry (one in Manchester NH was robbed this past week) or buy holiday gifts for a needy family.

My sisters and I have done the last one together for years.  Instead of buying gifts to/from each other, we have sought out a family who was going through hard times (layoffs, single parents, health issues etc), found out what their children needed (clothing & shoes sizes, few toy ideas) and each bought for one particular child and a special gift or two for the Mom (and/or Dad).  Nothing feels better than surprising someone a few days before Christmas with goodies who otherwise wouldn’t have a holiday celebration.  Last year I was broke but I turned in a huge jar of change that I collected over the year and ended up with over $200 to put towards helping a family.  It feels so awesome to know that someone has some packages to open from Santa that they might not have had otherwise.

Think of something, big or small that you can do for someone else.  The benefits pay off, I promise.