200+ Acts of Kindness to Show Compassion, Kindness, and Love

We all live in a world caught up in momentum. We go through each day interacting with other people and getting work done without putting much thought into being kind. Acts of kindness are a way for us to be deliberate with our kindness.

What are Acts of Kindness?

An act of kindness is a good deed a person can do to show compassion and love to another person. The gesture is done out of the goodness of a person’s heart, with zero expectation of reciprocation.

Acts of kindness can be done towards someone you know like a family member or friend or even to a complete stranger. A good person might do an act of kindness towards another person to make someone feel happy, appreciated, or valued.

There’s also an element of paying it forward. Sometimes people do acts of kindness to lead by example so that others will follow suit and be kind to others. When you do something kind to another person, often people will tell someone else about it or take action and do something kind for someone else. Thus, spreading a positive message about being kind-hearted.

When is Random Acts of Kindness Day?

Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17th. However, people should make an effort to practice kindness year round.

Why Acts of Kindness Are Important

1. Makes everyone happy

It’s easier to experience a bad or a neutral day than a happy one. But acts of kindness can turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary one. Life is filled with hardships as it is. But doing a simple kind act can make someone smile. Depending on how big or small your act is you could really help push someone’s life in a positive direction.

2. Lowers stress levels

Anger, sadness, and anxiety can really weigh us down. When you’re hateful, you hurt yourself more than you hurt others. And to be honest, hateful acts can hurt others a lot too. But when you practice acts of kindness, your energy changes which becomes less harmful to you. Most of your problems are caused by you even if it was simply your reaction to a problem. By putting more positive energy into the world, you get more positive energy back. Thus, acts of kindness can lower stress levels and help you deal with stress. 

3. Makes people feel appreciated

There’s so many people out there who feel underappreciated. Overworked moms, people with disabilities, homeless people. Some marginalized groups of people fail to be treated with respect and dignity. While others might get taken advantage of. Acts of kindness are a thoughtful way to show people that they’re appreciated, valued, and treated like human beings. 

4. People tend to focus on the negative

Name one thing that went poorly today. Now name one thing that went positively today. You probably were able to come up with the negative thing quickly but struggled to think of the positive thing. That’s because people are wired to find threats and dangers. Damn that reptilian brain of ours. It takes about five positive interactions to counteract one negative interaction. So we’ve got to do good over and over and over again to push that negativity aside. 

5. It doesn’t harm anyone

Acts of kindness don’t hurt people. They enrich people’s lives. They make people feel all gooey on the inside. It makes people feel cared for. It’s so easy for a bad mood to spew out hateful words or to unintentionally hurt someone with our actions. But acts of kindness are all good. So spread them around. Try to encourage others to do the same. 

6. Most people are suffering

People don’t always talk about the reality of the world. But truth is, most people in the world are suffering. Some people don’t have clean water, others live on the streets, others are in broken relationships, struggling with anxiety, grieving the death of a loved one. You name it. Everyone has a whole wave of challenges they go through. That’s why acts of kindness are so important. Because for a brief moment, it lets people know that things are going to be okay.

1. Hold the elevator door open for someone
2. Leave kind messages on social media posts
3. Write an appreciation card to your coworkers and friends
4. Send your friend photos of themselves on their wedding day
5. Pick up garbage you see on the floor
6. Help with chores around the house
7. Check in on a new mom or dad every couple of weeks so they don’t feel lonely
8. Make sure someone dying of cancer dies with dignity
9. Smile at strangers
10. Buy a coffee for the person behind you
11. Convince your work to collect and donate pop can tabs to charity
12. Bring muffins and coffees to work one morning
13. Write a kind birthday message to someone on their birthday
14. Send a thank you note to your former teacher
15. Do the thing someone always nags you about
16. Send a Christmas card to kids in the hospital
17. Leave extra change in a vending machine
18. Listen with care to someone’s struggles
19. Compliment a friend
20. Buy a food gift basket for the family who recently lost someone
21. Forgive someone who hurt you
22. Give a generous tip to those working in the service industry
23. Call a friend to see how they’re doing
24. Send positive vibes to your enemy
25. Leave books in a mailbox library
26. Throw someone you care about a surprise birthday party
27. Volunteer at a nonprofit
28. Leave a positive review for a local business
29. Donate blood
30. Cheer on marathoners at the sidelines
31. Visit an elderly relative at an old age home
32. Gossip less
33. Make people laugh
34. Speak positively
35. Love people with your whole heart
36. Donate your old clothes
37. Buy lunch for a homeless person
38. Send someone thinking of you flowers
39. Tell someone who once helped you that you’re doing well now
40. Hold the door open for someone
41. Mow your neighbors law or shovel their driveway
42. Show up on time
43. Allow a car to pass in front of you
44. Bring flowers to a nursing home
45. Create an 100 Reasons Why I Love You video for someone you care about
46. Share compliments you hear from other people
47. Check in on those who’ve lost parents on Mother’s and Father’s Day
48. Write a long heartfelt message in a birthday or Christmas card
49. Share photos of a deceased family member that you have
50. Offer your seat to a person in need on the bus
51. Post on social media about the random acts of kindness you’ve received from strangers
52. Donate money to your favorite charity
53. Send a message to your coworkers boss to tell them a kind thing they did
54. Buy canned goods for a local food bank
55. Invite someone over for dinner
56. Spend time with loved ones
57. Mentor or tutor someone who needs help
58. Send a care package to a struggling friend
59. Put a coin in an expired meter
60. Teach someone something new
61. Offer to drive the neighbors kids to school along with yours
62. Return something you borrowed
63. Apologize when you mess up
64. Offer to babysit for a new parent
65. Don’t hold grudges
66. Cook someone’s favorite meal
67. Be someone’s personal cheerleader
68. Encourage a coworker to go after a promotion
69. Offer to take care of a friend’s pet when they’re on vacation
70. Help someone with a project
71. Be honest to everyone
72. Give coupons that can be redeemed for your services for free such pep talk, massage, chores, etc.
73. Always carry a second umbrella on rainy days to give to someone in need
74. Dedicate a song to someone on the radio
75. Throw a family party so people can make great memories together
76. Let someone go ahead of you in line
77. Write a funny or happy song about someone
78. Draw someone a picture of themselves
79. Leave positive messages in your children’s lunch bags
80. Remind people what they’ve got going for them when they can’t see it
81. Give someone a high five
82. Recommend a colleague on LinkedIn
83. Leave a thank you note for the postal worker
84. Help an unemployed person get a job
85. Play with your pet for an extended period
86. Share the vegetables you’ve grown in your garden
87. Tell someone “I love you”
88. Remove hateful graffiti in your neighborhood
89. Offer to fix something that broke
90. Start your day by praising people you see
91. After a wedding donate your flowers to a local nursing home
92. Send a kind letter to people in need on More Love Letters
93. Rescue an animal that’s in danger
94. Put your phone away when you’re with someone
95. Surprise someone with a bucket list activity
96. Send birthday flowers to someone with no children
97. Include someone in a conversation
98. Stand up against someone being bullied
99. Print out the book your friend wrote
100. Help pay for a student’s education
101. Buy someone in need groceries
102. Grab someone by the shirt if they cross the street without paying attention
103. Have a small pack of tissues in case you find someone crying
104. Surprise someone  who can’t afford Christmas presents with gifts
105. Donate three month’s rent to someone who just lost a parent
106. Stay on the phone until the early morning with someone who has PTSD
107. Help someone with anxiety feel safe
108. Be there for someone struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts
109. Bring a special snack for a person with severe dietary restrictions
110. Tell your kids bedtime stories
111. Make breakfast in bed for your family
112. Offer to take pictures of tourists struggling to take a selfie
113. Leave a comment on a blog post you enjoyed
114. Introduce two people who should meet each other
115. Set two compatible friends up on a date
116. Thank the janitor
117. Invite a new coworker to lunch
118. Chat up the lonely or shy person in a room
119. Buy something from your friend’s new business
120. Write positive messages in chalk on the side walk
121. Be patient with a difficult person
122. Use reusable bags
123. Bake cookies for your friends and family
124. Donate toys to a children’s hospital
125. Donate feminine hygiene to a homeless woman with the Period Purse
126. Help a domestic abuse survivor feel safe
127. Put a bird feeder in the yard
128. Leave positive comments on a YouTube channel that regularly gets a lot of hate
129. Grab a bunch of friends to do a photo day
130. Believe in someone who doesn’t believe in themselves
131. Hide positive bookmarks in random library books
132. Plant a tree
133. Donate bone marrow
134. Be kind to yourself
135. Thank your garbage man
136. Send someone a photo of themselves
137. Gift a picture of someone with a deceased family member on the anniversary of their death
138. Speak highly of others when they’re being gossiped about
139. Encourage someone to go after their dreams
140. Give someone the benefit of the doubt
141. Foster a child
142. Adopt a pet
143. Donate your hair to charity
144. Check in on someone a few months after they’ve been divorced
145. Create a scrapbook about your relationship with a loved one
146. Buy someone dinner
147. Leave a letter in your favorite book at the library
148. Leave a book on a bus seat and around town
149. Ask for the recipe of a delicious meal someone made
150. Leave random kindness letters around town
151. Give $5 coffee cards to homeless people around the holidays
152. Buy lemonade from a kid’s lemonade stand
153. Donate to a local charity
154. Give small gift cards to random people for helping you, doing something kind, or who are just awesome
155. Do volunteer activities as a family to spread goodness at scale
156. Give candy at Halloween
157. Give stickers to your child to pass out to all of his or her classmates
158. Get to know someone
159. Donate positive reading material to doctor’s office
160. Message the wife or husband of a newly married friend telling them how lucky they are to have that person in their life and share a heartfelt story of something nice they did for you
161. Drop off a gift basket for firefighters or police station with goodies
162. Turn off the water when it’s not being used
163. Create kindness jars for your coworkers
164. Hand deliver a get well card to a friend in the hospital
165. Do a household chore without being asked
166. Do a virtual video chat with a friend who recently moved to another country
167. Buy school supplies for a teacher
168. Run a marathon for a charity
169. Create a homemade gift for someone
170. Give someone who recently moved a tour of the city
171. Watch someone else’s favorite show with them
172. Stop complaining
173. Pay for someone’s bus fare
174. Leave some spare change on a wishing fountain
175. Volunteer your time at a local animal shelter
176. Leave a local business a positive online review, and seek to upvote or thumb up another positive review online.
177. Offer a bottle of water to your mail carrier or leave them a nice note in your mailbox
178. Create care packages for friends and family members who work long hours, are struggling in life, or are in school
179. Register yourself onto a bone marrow registry and potentially save someone’s life
180. Bring food and water to a local fire station
181. Give back with community service
182. Take the neighbor’s dog for a walk or offer to babysit
183. Leave sticky notes with sweet messages around the house to your spouse or kids
184. Put random acts of kindness ideas into a jar and pull out a new one every day to try
185. Donate or give an old cell phone to someone who may need one
186. Clean up dog poop around the area you live or in parks around your home
187. Pick up plastic bags left around grocery stores or littered around parks and dispose them
188. Create a free library for your local community such as a “take a book, leave a book” program
189. Give your seat to someone random on a crowded bus
190. Leave a positive comment on a blog post or YouTube video
191. Make or bring someone in need a warm meal
192. Leave a surprise note or encouraging note for a fellow colleague struggling at work
193. Bring someone a hot chocolate or coffee on a cold day
194. Clear out your food pantry and donate non-perishable food to a local shelter
195. Check in on an elderly neighbor and offer to fix things around their house or buy them groceries
196. Write letters of appreciation to companies whose services or products you’ve been enjoying
197. Offer to clean at a local homeless shelter
198. Have an extra umbrella available for colleagues at work or strangers on a rainy day
199. Be generous and give an extra tip to someone working in the service sector
200. Sign up to be an organ donor
201. Let a car merge ahead of you in a drive-thru or on a highway
202. Offer to carry a stranger’s grocery bags to their car
203. Call or message an old friend you haven’t heard from in a while and check in on how they’re doing

Conclusion

Practice acts of kindness each day and you will dramatically change your life. You’ll remove the hurt and pain you feel on bad days. These kind acts don’t need to be expensive. Even simple gestures can make a difference. Focus on being kind to others to help take the focus off of your own pain and suffering. You won’t believe how helping other people can improve your own daily struggles. 

Which of these acts of kindness will you be trying today? How often do you practice acts of kindness?