5 Ways Kindness Can Help You Make Peace with Your Inner Grinch
The holiday season has arrived, and it’s easy to feel buried under an avalanche of bright and shiny cheer. Everywhere you look on your Insta, there are people celebrating and taking selfies with pine trees. But what does it say about you if your Grinchy heart doesn’t grow three sizes this season?
For many of us, this isn’t the most wonderful time of the year — and that’s okay. It’s time we recognize “Grinchy’’ emotions — our own and others — as a natural part of the holidays, too.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but by practicing kindness to ourselves and others, we can feel just a bit more seen and cared for as we make the most of where we are and what’s going on for us. Did you know that studies have found that being kind to others can make you happier, and the more kind acts you do, the greater effect on your well-being?
It doesn’t matter if you’re “as cuddly as a cactus”. A kind act is still a kind act, even if you’re feeling totally Grinchy while doing it! Here are a few ideas.
- Reach out to a friend who’s struggling
Trust us — you are not the only one avoiding mistletoe and choirs. Invite your friend who got ghosted by the guy he was seeing to do something outrageous. Put on your pajamas and binge-watch your favorite shows. Have a dance party with your pet. Get ice cream for breakfast, and leave the fa-la-la-la-la behind for a little while.
2. Start a holiday kindness tradition
Turn the downsides of traveling into random acts of kindness for service workers. Surprising a transit worker with a coffee in the middle of a 12-hour shift is an acknowledgement of the sacrifices they make in their own families to get revelers from one place to another without mishap. (Fellow Grinches love coffee, because “I haven’t had my coffee yet!” is a perfectly reasonable excuse for every bad mood.)
3. Share a meal
Make time for someone who can’t spend the holidays with those they love, or has made the tough choice to stay away from family who mistreats them. Don’t worry about making a fancy meal unless you want to. The important thing is creating a warm and welcoming space for someone who may be lonely (and that includes you).
4. Let someone go first
When you’re not feeling the holiday hustle, running errands and getting groceries can be a bit, well, stressful. When you see a fellow Grinch grumbling about the length of the line, or juggling kids and groceries valiantly, why not let them go first?
5. Be kind to yourself
When you get up each day this month and look in the mirror, let yourself feel all the feels. Admire yourself, head to toe, as you stand there in all your Grinchy glory. Take the time you need for yourself — even if it means saying no every now and then to little Cindy Lou Who. Reach out when you need a little extra support and comfort. And most all of all, know that you’re not alone.
For more ideas for acts of kindness toward yourself and others, visit kindness.org.
