Small acts of kindness

Like many people at this time of year, I’ve been looking back over the past 12 months…

…and I’m not ashamed to say I’ll be glad to see the back of it!

Everyone’s life has ups and downs. Even the most together happy people have those periods in their lives when things just don’t go right, it’s normal…

…and for me, 2022 was like that.

It started off poor, then rallied a bit with a few weeks of huge success with an amazing BA Life conference, successfully running another Edinburgh Half Marathon, and being a finalist for a business award.

But then the bottom seemed to fall out of my world in the second part of 2022 with a series of disasters that left me running on empty by the time we reached the festive season.

I was pretty down in the dumps …but for one thing …or a lot of little things …things that can’t be underestimated when the chips are down and you feel you have nothing left to give.

Namely, small acts of kindness!

Throughout this time, it was the acts of kindness from the people close to me that have kept me going.

The kind words and a smile, long companionable walks, sometimes followed up with tea and cake, the lunches out, a card in the post, weekends away, even a wonderful out-of-the-blue holiday. These have all made me feel loved and cared for by the people around me.

These acts have kept me going and not just from friends and family but also from people I barely know…

…when someone is having a bad day, a smile goes a long way.

So, as we go into 2023, here is my simple message…

Show kindness to those around you

Your actions don’t need to be big or grand gestures. Small innocuous acts of kindness are often the things that brighten up a person’s day…

• Before getting down to business, why not start your work emails with “Hi, how are you doing?”
• Say a happy good morning to anyone you walk past on your way to the office. You never know you may be the only person someone talks to in a day.
• Smile more, if nothing else it will make you feel happier …and it’s contagious, in fact, your smiling will even make YOU feel like smiling more too!

What follows tells the story of a little act of kindness that has stayed with me for years now and is a memory that comes to my head often no matter what I am doing…

Kindness goes a LONG way…

I took up running about 6 years ago and took part in my first Edinburgh Half Marathon.

One of the Project Managers I worked with at the time, Gillian Ramsay, was an experienced runner and took a mild interest, asking occasionally how training was going.

On the day of the Half Marathon, I was nervous and had the usual niggling doubt about whether I could finish the course.

With the Edinburgh Half Marathon, at about 9 miles, when you are already feeling the grind of mile after mile of running, you reach a section that is psychologically daunting…

You have to run straight PAST the finish line when you still have 4.5 miles to go!

‘Better’ still, you start to see faster runners running in the opposite direction heading for the line!

Well, on this first run at about the 9-mile mark I was starting to struggle when suddenly another runner embraces me in a big hug and says “Keep going! You’ve got this!” – before jumping back over the divider separating the more elite faster runners heading to the finish line. It was Gillian who had interrupted the final moments of her race to give me a boost of encouragement.

After that, I put my head down, energy restored, and finished the run.

Not only did I get an energy boost that day, but every time I run the Edinburgh Half (or any long run) I get to a similar point and think of that moment and her act of kindness …and enjoy the same impact.

A small act goes a long way.

So…

Forget resolutions in 2023!

Let’s face it, we all forget them before January is out anyway!

Instead, make 2023 your time for showing kindness to others. After all, it’s a win-win because I’m certain you’ll be helping yourself as well.

Happy New Year – Here’s wishing you and yours the very best of health and happiness in 2023.