No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted—Aesop

Two things have struck a chord within me in the last 24 hours…

The first is the quote to the right, which was in a newsletter sent out by my coach Jennie (you can read some of her Tips here). The second was a sentiment expressed by my colleague – that “volunteering and supporting our community is essential throughout the year. It’s not just for Christmas!”

And as I look forward to celebrating Christmas day with some dear friends, and sharing the festive spirit with my loved ones, it makes me wonder whether my acts of kindness sometimes come with strings attached…

Whilst our motivations for doing something to help someone might come from a genuine place, do we hold expectations of how our kindness will be received?

I gave an early gift to a friend in need, so that she could feel reassured that there would be food on her table at Christmas. My intention was genuine, yet I felt disappointed with her reaction. I was so excited about doing something caring for her that I didn’t stop to think that she may not feel in the mood for celebrating in the midst of all her stress.

How misplaced my disappointment was!

We are often more compelled to charity and being of service to those less fortunate at this time of year. Yet our help is needed out of the festive season just as much.

And I can’t help but feel hypocritical when I’m forced to throw out wasted food, left over from too many big Christmas meals, when there are many who don’t have enough.

So these things have caused me to reassess how I think about and share kindness.

I’m going to make sure my friend knows I’m there if she needs me, and will call on Christmas morning to help brighten her day. I’m going to make a concerted effort to finish off leftovers before going out to buy more food. And I’m going to find a couple of ways I can spread some kindness in my local community – now, as a starting point, and in a way I can regularly sustain.

What gifts of kindness will you give this season?

One of the simplest acts of kindness is a smile – given freely, regardless of whether it is returned!

Best wishes for a warm & magical festive season, and a healthy & happy new year to you all!

With just one week to go the festive period is already in full swing. Now is your change to blow everything that you’ve worked so hard for over the last year……..

Well of course that’s what everyone is saying to each other to justify the over eating, drinking, late nights and everything that comes with the holiday.

Now at ActionPodcast, we certainly don’t want you to think we are total kill-joys, but it would be great if you recognised that you do have a choice.

During this podcast Paul and Chris give some amazing tips that make it really easy to have a fantastic Christmas, without the repercussions.

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No Regrets...

This is a time of the year when our thoughts turn reflective as we look back at the year we’ve had.

Can you say there’s nothing you regret?

Chris and Sam reckon it’s not too late to turn things around – whether it is something that didn’t happen or something that didn’t turn out as you’d hoped. Pick one thing you’d like to either resolve or at least progress a little, before the year is out. (We help out with some relationship examples). The more emotionally charged the better!

A baby step could see you dissolving a regret, freeing up some emotional energy or creating a stronger foundation to move forward from in 2012.

Make a real difference to this year and your relationships this week!

All I want for Christmas is for you to have a wonderful time and celebrate your festive socks off.

Spend time with friends, family or even if you are working, have an amazing time.

If I did have just one wish though it would be to have you tell your friends and family about Action Podcast and have them listen to one of our podcasts or browse through our blog posts. Let them know there is a free ebook ready and waiting for them too!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!

But there is a simple solution…

Kindness!

An act of kindness, especially in the midst of chaos, not only makes you and the person you’ve helped feel better – but it can actually help counter-act some of the effects of stress from the festive season too…

We’ve all heard of the ripple-effect: where an action we take has an impact that ripples out like small waves from a pebble dropped in a pond. So if we give the gift of kindness with a smile, or a helping hand, then that will not only benefit the person we’ve helped, but it may well influence how they act towards others and the ripples continue spreading. What a wonderful gift to share!

But watching David R. Hamilton’s short video message has taught me something I didn’t know – that the chemicals produced when we connect with someone through an act of kindness can actually counter-act the effects of stress that we might be experiencing due to other pressures of the festive season. In fact, David suggests that a genuine hug can even lead to us having a healthy heart!

Now – I’ve done a wee bit of study into the physiological and mental impacts of stress, and the stress-hormones that are created within our bodies, and ANY way to reduce the impact of these stressful times is well worth trying. So, here’s a festive challenge for you wrapped up as a gift:

• When you are in a busy shop, take a moment to really thank the person serving you, and acknowledge how challenging it must be to deal with demanding customers at this time of year. Try this even if the service wasn’t as festive as you’d have liked!
• Smile at someone when you are standing at a bus stop, walking down the street in the snow, or waiting in a queue. Make eye contact with them briefly, and share a genuine smile – most people will smile back automatically (it is almost contagious!)
• Plan a small Christmas gift for someone you wouldn’t normally give to. It could be a neighbour you don’t know well, an acquaintance or someone random. The gift itself doesn’t have to be much – homemade sweeties, a beautiful card or a scratch-lottery ticket. The surprise will be as much a gift as what you give.
• Support a charity – at this time of year and in this economy, charities need all the support they can get. A few hours or a few pounds spent sorting out unwanted clothes from your wardrobe, or offering pet-food to an animal shelter or wildlife hospital could be a real act of kindness that has a massive impact.

Whatever you choose to do, one act of kindness can go a long way.

So as soon as you start noticing yourself getting stressed or tense with festive worries or complaints, just pause for a second and give yourself the gift of kindness by offering it to someone else!

1 Act of Kindness = Happiness to you, Joy to the Receiver, AND reduced Festive stress-levels!

Add your ideas for small acts of kindness to the comments below to help inspire other readers, and please let us know how an act of kindness has helped transform a situation for you too!

During the Festive Season, it can be easy to focus on what you are not happy with or what you *still* haven’t done, and even easier to forget about the progress you really have made in 2008.

Exploring what you have achieved, the challenges you’ve overcome or the problems you’ve solved can really give you a strong foundation for setting your Intentions for 2009!

Join us to discover just how and what you could be celebrating this year and next (without the hangovers)!

Having this kind of past experience can really put a downer on your mood and even worse, start to bring down the loved ones around you.

Now is the chance you have been waiting for to start having the Christmas and New Year celebrations you may feel you’ve been missing out on.

Start thinking about all the things you can do at this festive time of year that you wouldn’t normally set time aside for.

For example, here in London we have a lot of shows to see all year round. So a couple of years ago I treated my partner to an evening at the ballet. It was something we had never enjoyed together before, but it was a wonderful experience and such a pleasure to watch. Now each year we start looking at the shows that are on and get excited about booking up our festive tradition.

Now, we have something festive to look forward to that we both love and can share together.

So think about what you could do that you’d enjoy. Something that could become part of a festive tradition for your nearest and dearest.

How about the best gift of all – the gift of love!

Listen to the podcast then pop over to this website and complete the 30 second quiz
http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/

And remember to come back and tell us how ‘loved-up’ your Festive Season was by posting a comment – we’d love to hear from you!