Emergency Preparedness Committee: Kindness

I’m serving up some options for navigating through this very difficult time. All you have to do is take some notes, if you choose, or simply close your eyes and commit to experimenting with some everyday interactions that will help someone else, but you too.
The magic word for this exercise is KIND. Being KIND is an excellent coping skill for the COVID-19 era. In a time of isolation, kindness fosters connection to others. It helps provide purpose and meaning to our lives, allowing us to put our values into practice. And it diminishes our negative thoughts.
KINDNESS is the ability to give a smile, volunteer, help a neighbor or friend, deliver a needed meal, be a chauffeur for a medical appointment, call a friend to check in and just chat. It can take just a few minutes and cost nothing. Remember your loved ones. Kindness isn’t just for strangers. When you’re kind to the people you live with, everyone reports being in a better mood and having more positive emotions.
Don’t get discouraged. Sometimes other people don’t respond in kind. This doesn’t mean they didn’t appreciate your effort. Remind yourself of another time it went well. Keep going.
If you want to reap the personal benefits of kindness, be sincere. It also helps to expect good results. In studies, people who believed that kindness was good for them showed a greater increase in positive emotions, satisfaction with life, and feelings of connection with others—as well as greater decrease in negative emotions—than those who did not. Sooo, let’s try to be more proactive—not reactive. It will make you feel good about yourself.
Want to feel better? BE KIND. When people are kind, it’s a normal progression to lower levels of stress. One feels less depressed, one experiences greater cardiovascular heath, and one becomes physically stronger.
Did I mention this whole process is very simple, and an injection of KINDNESS won’t hurt? BUT, being KIND often requires courage and strength. Let’s up our game and get through this together. Just thinking about the words “Emergency Preparedness” should remind us to be ready, as much as we can, for whatever uncertain situation might be coming around the corner. Nobody could plan for the hit we’ve taken from the Coronavirus, nor for some of the other unforeseen problems life sends us, but we can learn to BE KIND to each other when handling issues that might arise any time in life.
—Kent Wellbrock