It encourages people to purposefully commit random acts of kindness for a whole month. The benefits of being kind have been studied for both the person committing kindness and the one receiving kindness. Gottman’s ratio for relationships says that for a relationship to be felt as positive, there must be a ratio of 5 positive interactions to every negative interaction. So you can strengthen your relationships by committing acts of kindness and building your “bank” of positive interactions for a potential bad day.
Research by Random Acts of Kindness and cited by Dartmouth University found that kindness lowers stress levels, increases happiness, extends your lifespan, and inspires others to be kind to others. (https://www.dartmouth.edu/wellness/emotional/rakhealthfacts.pdf)
Challenge yourself to be kind this October and build a habit of kindness in your life.
Post by Katie Ranney
