The Benefits of Cultivating Kindness

Aesop, the famous Greek fabulist, wrote “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Suggesting that kindness doesn’t have to be grand or extravagant to create an impact and be meaningful. In fact, small actions or feelings matter, they are achievable and manageable and go a long way!  

Kindness has the benefit of being altruistic,we can help somebody else and brighten their day and this in turn boosts our own happiness. Professor Sonia Lyubomirsky, a leading academic and author researching the science of happiness, found when we are intentionally kind to one another it leads to an overall feeling of happiness. She writes: “to make yourself happier, you should try to make other people happier.”  

There are huge health benefits to being kind. Foremost, it is an antidote to stress. Kindness is emotionally contagious for both the giver and receiver. When we are kind to others, we release what is known as the ‘love’ hormone: Oxytocin. Oxytocin combats the stress hormone cortisol which in turn helps reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, helps us feel calmer, happier and more connected. If you see an opportunity to make someone’s day by being kind, notice how it affects your body, notice how it makes you feel. When we receive kindness, we are motivated to pay it forward because we feel a sense of gratitude and in turn, we become the giver.  

So how can we cultivate kindness within our workplaces, specifically within education? We know from research that kindness is key to social-emotional learning; modelling kindness, noticing kind acts and being kind is integral to developing interpersonal skills, self-control and self-awareness for our students. Nurturing kindness is fundamental to the wellbeing of the whole school community whether that is saying thank you to the person serving you food, supporting a member of staff who is going through a lesson observation or giving some slack to our senior leadership team before Ofsted. A great place to start is here. Ideas include setting up a ‘random acts of kindness day’. It is worth thinking about what your Kindness Day could look like.

But let’s not forget ourselves – kindness must include you. Being kind to yourself is the start of any kindness journey. We cannot give kindness to others without being kind to ourselves first and this is particularly challenging for education staff who spend most of our days prioritising others – our students. Being in education is emotionally demanding, it is often the reason why most of us choose the profession however, it can take its toll. So, what can we do? We can start by recognising the signs of stress and reach out by talking about it, asking for help, getting support, checking and strengthening our personal boundaries, being able to say ‘no’. By talking about these things we can start a conversation about staff wellbeing, what is and what isn’t within our control, and create strategies to support all staff and the challenges they face.  

Other ways can include implementing opportunities to create space and rest within your working day. Schools and colleges can be over-stimulating places, sensory overload. Taking time to turn the lights off in your classroom after a busy class, practicing short mindfulness activities, making sure you have space for lunch with or without colleagues, getting some fresh air, avoiding devices, eating well and staying hydrated are all ways to self-care and look after your physical and emotional health. 

Developing self-care is not easy, or indeed selfish but it is necessary. Take a look at Action for Happiness for inspiration and carve some time out of the day out for just you.  

Start where you are, take small steps but remember you matter just as much as other people matter and being kind to yourself will never be wasted.  

Inspired by some of the ideas discussed in this blog? We have just released new dates for our Wellbeing Champion Course which covers many of these topics including how to cultivate a wellbeing culture in your school, stress management, positive emotion, gratitude and workload. Contact us for more information and we can discuss your staff wellbeing needs.  

Article by Still Human Wellbeing Facilitator, Arwen Webb.