Week One

Sunday: Valentine's Day. I was nice to everyone. Including sending some texts to friends who are not necessarily Valentines, but people I care about and appreciate very much.
Monday: I sent some messages to my team at work letting them know how awesome I think they are and how grateful I am to work with them.
Tuesday: See photo. In the past I have left my change from buying a drink in the machine for the next person to find, but our machine at work is trying to sabotage this and does not give change. So if we put in a dollar, we have to buy two. Which is fine, I just stick one in the fridge for another time. But I decided to do this instead.

Wednesday: I bought the husband some of his favorite candy when I stopped at the gas station on the way home from work. 

Thursday: Traffic on Thursdays is a nightmare for me, mostly because it is the only day I leave the office at 5pm with the rest of the world (other days I get done earlier or later by at least an hour). I'm pretty sure 90% of the drivers on the road are just as frustrated as I am, but I let someone in front of me in the standstill traffic on the highway. Speed Limit: 60. Speed I was going : 2. 

Friday: I complimented another co worker on her general awesomeness. 

Saturday: As the husband and I were waiting to be called for dinner we were standing outside because the lobby was claustrophobic. A woman outside tried to put something in her purse but it fell and dropped to the ground. She didn't notice it, but I called it to her attention so she wouldn't walk off without it. 

Week one was a success. As I suspected, I have less opportunity since I am in an office based job and don't interact with as many strangers as I used to. But as the title quote says, where there are people, there are opportunities. I also had a pretty good week in general, so it wasn't as challenging as it could have been. There have been weeks in the past when I am wrapped up in my own struggles and it is difficult to find ways to be kind to others when I can hardly be kind to myself. But as someone who works in mental health, I know that being kind to myself is necessary and sometimes the hardest thing to do. So there may be days in the future when I count that as my random act. 

Go forth and be kind. 

New Adventures in Kindness

So it's been a while.

Today begins National Random Acts of Kindness Week 2016. Due to that falling on a Sunday, as well as some other random signs, I have decided that it's time to dust off the blog and get back to it. I'm going back to the old format to hold myself accountable: 1 random act of kindness every day for at least a year. After that, we will see where thing go. I'll be posting my weekly acts on Sundays and reflecting on how things went. 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming year! I think there will be some new challenges with this due to new life circumstances. The biggest one will be that I have a new job that is office based. I interact with significantly less people on a daily basis since I drive to work, interact with my clients and coworkers and then head home. I used to be working from coffee shops and other public places and traveling much more throughout the day, which led me to encounter many more people. 

I'm looking forward to my weekly posts, even if no one reads them. But I hope someone does, and I hope they are inspired. Happy Random Acts of Kindness Week!