WEEK 38- Kindness Catching

Equipment Required
Pen and Paper


PERMAH Element
Relationships and Positive Emotion

Teachers to read and facilitate the following:

 

Rationale



Kindness can be defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Affection, gentleness, warmth, concern, and care are all associated with kindness. People who are kind and compassionate are usually the most successful (Brooks, 2011). Kindness is an interpersonal skill and can be learned through trained repetition. Being kind to others improves our well being, connectedness and makes us happier (Lyubomirsky, 2008). There are many ways to bring about the benefits of kindness into our lives. We can perform random acts of kindness, or write down when people show kindness to us. We can also perform acts of kindness that are not random, but are deliberately directed towards others, when we notice an opportunity. Another very powerful way for us to foster more kindness in our lives is to think of times that we ourselves have been kind to others. In a study done by Adam Grant at Wharton Business school (2013), people who were asked to remember the times that they themselves had been kind, gave more generously to others than those people who were asked to remember times when others had been kind to them. Recalling our actions of kindness helps us reinforce and build a vivid self image of ourselves as a kind person. We then find ways to live up to the ‘kind person’ image and become more kind.


Description of Personal Wellbeing Practice: Kindness Catching


  1. Think of three times that you have been kind to others in the past.

  2. Go through each of the three memory and visualise it in your mind. Think of the way you felt at the time and how the person responded to your kindness.

  3. Now write down those three times you have been kind, giving as many details as you remember.

  4. Share one of these with your shoulder partner.


Main message:

 

“Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” — James M Barrie


 

UPP’s Personal Wellbeing Practices

A Personal Wellbeing Practice (PWP) is an evidenced-based positive psychology intervention, applied in school communities or other educational settings. At UPP, we have tried to make these PWP’s simple, concise and relevant for students and their teachers. The six elements for the Personal Wellbeing Practices are: Positive emotion (P); Engagement (E); Relationships (R); Meaning (M); Accomplishment (A); and, Health (H).


We hope that these evidence-based tools of positive psychology will enhance help people to thrive and live their best life, both within and beyond the school gates.  

For more activities like this (and much more), check out THRIVE Online Lesson Modules for Pastoral Care and Wellbeing.

Unleashing Personal Potential