The Kindness Challenge for Stress Relief can help you find the balance you need in the busy schedule that you lead.
Are you fond of the saying, “different strokes for different folks?” It’s a true statement because everyone has their preferences.
What works for you might not work for a loved one. Or even if it works, you might fancy something else.
But when it comes to dealing with stress. It’s good to know all the strokes, every remedy in existence. So today, you’ll be covering another way to manage your stress and stop being a nervous wreck.In our fast-paced and demanding world, it can be hard to avoid the stresses that come with daily living.
So feeling frustrated and exhausted is a daily experience. You ask yourself, can I ever escape this cycle? The answer is yes; life can be more serene and less hazardous.
Effect of Stress
Stress has a way of sucking out all the air in your lungs, draining your energy, and attacking your motivation. Imagine someone falling down a long spiraling staircase.
The fall can go on for a while and lead to serious damage if something doesn’t break this man’s fall. It’s the same thing for stress.
The good news is, something can effectively stop your downward spiral and produce stress relief—acts of kindness.
Benefits of Kindness
You might wonder, “acts of kindness?” Won’t it crowd up my daily schedule and increase stress in my life? Doesn’t that involve helping others and giving up more of my time? No, it wont, the kindness challenge can be the first step to the rest of the day.
The idea is getting yourself to snap out of the grip of stress through kindness. Some studies reveal that acts of kindness have positive effects on your physical and mental well-being. Interesting, right?
Now, I’m not saying you’re a bad person who doesn’t give to the needy, serve their country or reach out to others in their downtimes.
However, I’m asking you to deliberately perform an act of kindness when you feel stressed. Check out what this practice will do?
Kindness produces endorphins, the brain’s natural painkiller; these brain-soldiers will swing into action whenever you’re experiencing burnouts or mental breakdowns.
And reduce stress to level zero. Not entirely convinced? Well, more research shows that continuously kind people have 23% less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age slower than the average population! Can you beat that?
In addition, acts of kindness lead to an increase in happiness and radically deal with stress—by kicking it out of your life.
How to Relieve Stress through Acts of Kindness
So if you wondering how you can deliberately perform acts of kindness in your daily life to relieve stress? I will give you an example that shows you’ve been practising it unconsciously and how simple it is.
For instance, have you ever helped someone figure out their mess while you have serious challenges? Maybe they were also stressed out, but their situation was worse than yours, and you helped out in your little way.
Do you remember how you felt? I bet you felt like a weight was lifted off your shoulders. I’m sure that act of kindness defeated the cloud of stress in your life and introduced happiness. That’s the power of relieving stress through acts of kindness.
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You’ll discover that kindness helps you feel good about yourself and shuts down every stress program. In the long run, it’ll boost your performance at work, build healthy relationships that are anti-stress and relax your brain for more productivity.
Relieving stress through acts of kindness is not a hit-and-run achievement. It’s a daily practice that gives you a more vibrant and beautiful life. Imagine the kind of results a stress-free life will give you.
Okay, this is the moment of truth because it’s doing the work that creates changes in your life. Although, I’ve explained our topic to a large extent. I know it might be difficult carrying out your first acts of kindness practice. So I created a daily task that will help you achieve that goal.
Daily Activities
Here are some effective daily activities that will help you become a professional at reducing stress with acts of kindness.
Day 1: Practice positive self-talk
Treat and talk to yourself the way you would a treasured friend. Practicing positive self-talk is an act of kindness towards yourself.
Certainly, most negative situations trigger stress. So, speaking words of kindness to yourself creates a positive atmosphere around you and reduces stress. Why?
Because such an activity releases endorphins in your brain. Remember, these are natural painkillers. You can use prompts—acts of kindness cards or notes—to remind yourself of your good qualities during the day.
Day 2: Count to 5
Have you ever been so offended by someone that you go hysterical with emotions and behave badly? Well, counting to five will help you pace yourself and switch your reaction from positive to negative.
So as you out today, whenever you’re under a high-stress situation, maybe someone makes you mad; count to five. Why? It gives you time to respond in love, not out of irritation.
Also, as you get to five, you’ll be able to put yourself in the other person’s so you don’t overreact.
Day 3: Buy some fruits or give some money to someone in need
This act of kindness doesn’t require to be a big shot in philanthropy like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. It simply involves giving food or some money to the homeless or someone you know is in need.
Day 4: Give Unexpected Compliments
This activity helps you to be mindful of the words you use on others. Deliberately speak kind and soul-lifting words daily to those around you.
You can do this by giving unexpected compliments to those around you. It might be telling an employee they a great job. Or encouraging people when you notice they are down.
Day 5: Leave a positive comment on a news article or blog post
have you heard this profound saying, “We rise by lifting others?” it means that the same blessing of happiness you gave to another person will be done to you.
In this context, you’ll receive your reward by a massive relief of stress. So every day, read an article and blog post and lift someone’s spirits.
More Resources
5-Day Habit Switch for Stress Relief
5 Ways You Can Prioritise Your Time To Reduce Stress
Final Thought
You can see that acts of kindness won’t make you busier and more stressed out. Instead, it will release an endorphin rush in your brain that will neutralize stress.
You can call this kindness therapy or stress massage. Put all you’ve read to work and experience a brighter life through kindness.
