Practicing Kindness Helps Change the World for the Better

Want to be the best version of yourself? Want to be someone who helps others feel good about themselves? Want to be a positive presence in the world, someone who is uplifting and inspiring to others? There's a simple way to it — each day practice kindness!

"Roots and Shoots 1-Click actions" help young people get ideas of how they can make a positive impact in the world. I am doing the "All Kinds of Kindness" which challenges you to do a simple act of kindness each day for 21 days. You can literally accomplish this in just minutes each day.

Here are some simple examples. Complement someone. Invite a student to join you for lunch. Share something or donate an item to someone who needs it. Or show gratitude to a close friend or your brother or sister, a teacher or your school bus driver, your parents or grandparents. Hold the door open for others. Or give someone a hug.

Set a reminder each morning, add it to your to-do list, or create a "kindness box" as Roots & Shoots suggests. Whatever works for you and reminds you to look for opportunities to be kind. The more acts of kindness you do, the more it becomes part of who you are. Soon you won't need reminders. It will become a habit.

So, you might be wondering, how does this help the planet? Kindness positively impacts everything. Kindness makes you a better person. Kindness spreads. It makes you and others feel good and that's when good things happen. Basically, good inspires more good — more good for people, for wildlife, for the environment, and for the planet. I think the late aviation pioneer, Amelia Earhart, said it best, "A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees."