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February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day. It’s a day designed to create a better world and make kindness the norm, by encouraging us to think of how we can be kinder to others.
It’s a well-known fact that being kind to others can boost our own happiness, reduce our stress levels and improve our emotional wellbeing. But it’s important that we take the time to be kind to ourselves too!
After what has been a particularly challenging term for teachers, we hope that you use the half term break as a chance to show some kindness to yourself. Below, we share five ways you can be kinder to yourself this half term, and five ways to show kindness to others.
5 ways to show kindness to yourself this half term
1) Fill out your own self-care planner. Plan what you are going to do to show kindness to yourself during the week using our self-care planner. Check-in with yourself. How are you feeling? What could you do to help boost your mood?
2) Take yourself on a self-care date. Wellbeing is individual to each of us. What makes one person happy may be very different from someone else!
Spend a day this half term doing something that makes you happy: whether that’s picking up a forgotten hobby, visiting a new city, or seeing a new film at the cinema.
3) Rest! You might be feeling pressured to make the most out of your half term, or get ahead with your planning for next term. But it’s important to remember that rest is productive too! After what has been a hectic couple of months, make sure you take the time to rest and recharge.
4) Get outside. It’s no secret that both nature and exercising are key to a positive mindset. Turn your phone off (or at least put it on silent!), and go for a walk in your local park, paying full attention to everything that’s around you.
5) Put your wellbeing first next term.
It’s important to show kindness to yourself throughout the academic year. Our teacher wellbeing resources are designed to support you through the development of your confidence, resilience, communication and self-awareness: skills which have been proven to have a positive impact on our wellbeing.
5 ways to show kindness towards others:
1) Reach out to a loved one. Positive relationships are key to our wellbeing. But after such a busy term, you may not have had chance to catch up with loved ones. Send a message to someone you care about, asking how they are, or better still, give them a call!
2) Show gratitude. Think about someone who did something to help you, or who really demonstrated kindness towards you over the last term. This could be a colleague, family member, a friend, or even a student! Write down exactly how it made you feel, and why you appreciated it. If you haven’t already, make sure you tell them how much their kindness meant to you.
3) Show a random act of kindness to a stranger. Small acts of kindness can have a huge impact. Try smiling at someone you walk past, give up your seat on the bus, or pay an unexpected compliment. Performing random acts of kindness can encourage others to repeat your behaviour, leading to a kinder, more positive community.
4) Offer to help someone. Be observant, and notice when those around you need help. Whether that’s helping to carry someone’s bags to their car, checking in on an elderly neighbour, or reaching out to support someone in your life going through a difficult time.
5) Promote kindness in your classroom. Think of how you could bring kindness into your classroom after the half term break. Why not challenge your students to perform one random act of kindness every day for a week?
Looking for more ways to be kinder to yourself next term? Download our FREE Teacher Wellbeing Resources to support the mental health and wellbeing of your school community.