Radio Headspace

This month on Headspace, we’ve been encouraging you to take on 100 Kinds of Kindness, so this week on Radio Headspace, it felt like it was time to practice what we preached. Along with the help of the wonderful Shannon and Will, who both work at Headspace on either side of the Atlantic, and Corey, who has been a guest on Radio Headspace before, and who I subsequently managed to rope into this, the four of us set out to each put 25 acts of kindness out into the world in one week, with the aim of reaching 100 kinds of kindness between us. It was something of a tall order, but I compiled a list of suggestions (with some help from the internet) to get us started. It included things like: 1 Fold your roommate's laundry 2 Buy someone a cup of coffee 3 Offer someone your seat 4 Compliment a stranger 5 Leave a note for your server/ bartender 6 Call someone who misses you just to make their day 7 Take food to the homeless 8 Volunteer your time at a local charity 9 Ask a stranger about their day 10 Put change in the washer/dryer for the next person at the laundromat 11 Write a thank you letter to your parents/ a teacher from when you were a kid 12 Make some baked goods for your office/ neighbor 13 Make breakfast for your partner or housemate 14 Visit a senior center or nursing home 15 Pick up trash 16 Donate one of your favorite possessions 17 Leave your favorite book in a public place with a note 18 Pick up the check for someone eating out alone 19 Put $10 on a random gas pump 20 Send anonymous flowers to someone who deserves to smile 21 Tip an extra dollar on your morning coffee 22 Send a nice card/ postcard to a family member, just because 23 Let someone get ahead of you in line 24 Babysit 25 Give a lottery ticket to a stranger 26 Run an errand for someone 27 Give something awesome away on craigslist 28 Leave chocolate for your co-worker 29 Write a nice Yelp review 30 Donate blood 31 Cook dinner for a busy parent/ roommate/ friend 32 Share your last bit of your favorite food 33 Leave random notes on people's cars saying nice things But are we born inherently kind? Does it make a difference if we feel close to our communities? Dr Claudia Aguirre returned to Radio Headspace this week to explain kindness and the brain. You can hear how Will, Shannon and Corey got on on the podcast, and I'll share my own experiences on the blog next week. about my own experiences with this project. So how many did we get through? Listen and find out. If you want to get in touch with your stories of kindness please do, radio@headspace.com or on twitter @get_headspace