We’ve been seeing a lot of information floating around the internet about micro-acts of joy and how they bring about feelings of wellbeing. Micro-acts are small things that anyone can do anytime, anywhere, such as noticing feelings of gratitude, celebrating someone else’s joy, visiting a home-bound neighbor or family member, doing something nice for a friend or stranger, a few moments of meditation, or looking at the positive side of a negative situation.
Numerous studies have shown that practicing these types of acts has a positive effect on people’s sense of wellbeing. Early findings from the Big JOY Project are backing this up. After one week of practicing daily micro-acts of joy and reflecting on them, people feel an improved sense of wellbeing and experience more positive emotions, improved relationships, and even better sleep.
Such small acts can have a big impact! There are so many things in our lives that are out of our control, but this is a matter we can take into our own hands and it costs absolutely nothing.
So, from this moment forward, let’s see how many of these micro-acts we can work into our daily lives. As we notice them, we can invite our kids to join in with us and teach them about the benefits of micro-acts of joy for their own wellbeing.
I’ll list a few ideas below, but we’d love to hear what works for you too.
Simple micro-acts of joy:
- Snuggle with a pet
- Adorn your child’s breakfast with a raisin smiley face
- Visit an elderly neighbor
- Greet passers-by with a warm smile
- Notice what fills you with awe
- Call someone who’s under the weather to let them know you care
- Slip a note into your child’s lunchbox or backpack
- Consider the upside of a difficult situation
- Share something with others that made you smile or laugh
- Make a gratitude list
- Pick something up for someone when they’ve dropped it
- Start the day (meeting, meal, etc.) with a joke or funny story
- Sing
- Hug a loved one
- Any small kindness
Humans may be wired to focus on the negative as an evolutionary survival strategy, but how lovely that we can shift toward a more positive perspective just by practicing one micro-act of joy each day. My guess is that you won’t be able to stop with just one.
And be sure to check out our infographic Teaching Kids about Micro-acts of Joy.
Be well!
