The 30-day kindness challenge is an attempt to reinforce acts of kindness within the daily grind. It is a focused and intentional effort to hunt for the goodness in the day. The goal is to perform an act of kindness that results in a lasting effect on a person. I encourage everyone who reads this to participate actively in this challenge.

How Do You Behave When People Need Help?

Starting on March 1st, I will begin doing one intentional act of kindness each day for 30 days. I have listed several examples below. Creativity is also encouraged. I want us to go beyond our comfort zone and stretch ourselves to do things we normally wouldn’t. I want to study my bystander behavior. The bystander effect is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to individuals not offering help when other people are present.

When I see opportunities will I avoid the situation or help. I stay pretty busy and work hard most of the day but will I make the time to “Do a good turn daily?” I learned the Boy Scout slogan when I was 11 years old. I probably hadn’t even thought about it for over 15 years, but it was the first thing that came to mind when I thought about the 30-day kindness challenge. This challenge is about being self-aware of the decisions and consequences of our action or inaction. When confronted with opportunities, will I help or will I stick to my daily grind? Has the Boy Scout slogan been falling on deaf ears all these years? I do acts of kindness regularly but within my comfort zone. What about going outside that circle?

Events Trigger Thoughts Which Result In Actions

I am already experiencing some self-limiting thoughts about completing this 30-day kindness challenge. 30 days seems a long time, but I think it is achievable. It is long enough to study some measurable effects. I want to understand any positive effects that result from the process. What positive effects does this have on me and the receivers behavior? I am also experiencing some anxiety already about doing a few of the task I listed if and when the opportunities present themselves. My heart rate is elevated just thinking and writing about this; it will push my levels of courage.

What will they do? I have made up some business cards with messages on them. It encourages them to come to this page and ask them to leave a comment about how it affected them or what they experienced.

Kindness Challenge Reflection Questions

Why did this good thing happen? What does this mean to them? What can they do to enable more of this good stuff? What can they do to contribute to this good thing?

I also will journal about my success and failures every day. At the end of the 30 days, I’ll write a report about my experiences good or bad and publish it here.

Accountability Is Necessary For Change

Accountability needs to be maintained throughout this project. I hope that you will join me and encourage me on Instagram as I photo journal these micro-events each day. At the end of the 30 day period, I will use an app called 1 Second Everyday to publish a video. I will also use a habit tracking app called Coach.me to track my behavior daily. This also presents a challenge because I will have to ask people for a selfie or capture the scene in some way which may be intrusive but shows proof I completed the day’s task. I usually feel awkward when taking selfies or photos in public amongst unfamiliar people.

I think this is a realistic challenge that will stretch its participants and help us grow. I hope that you join me, and you push your boundaries a little bit. Go ahead and leave a photo or comment about your experiences in the comments section as you progress along your quest to be a better person and grow.

Kindness Challenge Examples

Pay for the person behind you.

Help a homeless person.

Carry groceries for someone.

Visit an elderly person.

Put money in an expired or about to expire meter.

Tell someone they made a difference in your life.

Volunteer at a shelter or home.

Let someone cut in front of you.

Pick up litter on a street.

Leave a positive note on someone’s windshield.

Sit down and eat with someone who is by themselves.

Pay the toll for the person behind you.

Help out a single parent.

Walk a shelter dog.

Leave some quarters in the laundry mat.

Help your elderly neighbor out.

Take a cup of coffee to someone working outside.

Take a shelter some dog or cat food.

Make a donation to a charity.

Write a thank you note.

Give a generous tip.

Put grocery carts back where they belong.

Will You Join Me Or Be A Bystander?

These examples are just some of the things you could do for your kindness challenge. What else could someone do that takes them out of his or her comfort zone and make someone else’s day just a little better?