Daily Motivation--Be Kind to Yourself for a Change

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these." --George Washington Carver

The word kindness is made up of two syllables-KIND and NESS. KIND means forgiving, warm-hearted, friendly, of a sympathetic or helpful nature, gentle, merciful, and tender. NESS is a suffix that means a state, condition, quality or degree. When the two syllables are combined they result in the following definition: KINDNESS: The quality or state of being warm-hearted, considerate, humane and sympathetic.

Numerous scientific studies have shown that being kind results in significant physical, mental and emotional health benefits:

• It maintains good health and diminishes the effect of disease.
• Endorphins or natural pain-killers are released as well as a physical sensation of euphoria, which leads to improved emotional well-being.
• Stress related problems including depression tend to improve after performing kind acts.
• Self-esteem is enhanced as well as feelings of optimism and happiness.
• The immune system is strengthened and physical pain decreases.

Wouldn't you like to reap these physical, mental and emotional benefits? If so, be kind to yourself!

How to Be Kind to Yourself

A very dear friend of mine is fond of saying, "A change is as good as a rest." She does little things to be kind to herself like changing her shoes after a long day at work, putting on a pair of slippers or walking shoes and then starting the next activity with renewed energy and enthusiasm. Imagine my surprise when I decided to give this piece of home-grown wisdom a try. She was right! I began to change my shoes or clothing-- particularly after very intense or stressful activities--and became energized and renewed too!

Doing things differently for a change is as good as a rest. So here are 25 ways you can be kind to yourself, make small changes in your life, and rest in the process:

Have some fun with this. There are many more things you can do to be kind to yourself. Make your own list and when you complete every item on it, start a new one.

The point is that you must plan to do something kind for yourself, and then stick to that plan. Our lives are much too busy these days to let it fall to chance or when you get around to it. You never will, you know. In any event, enjoy the items on this list and begin to experience better health and increased vitality. Being kind to yourself will ultimately result in your being kind to others.

Althea DeBrule, entrepreneur and seasoned human resources executive, has focused for more than 30 years on helping people achieve their career goals. Creator of The Extreme-Career-Makeover? and a founding partner of RADSGroup Organizational Consultants, she is recognized for her bottom line and practical application of career development and management strategies in a way that penetrates hearts and compels action. She speaks and teaches with inspired talent, humor and contagious zeal at management conferences and leadership retreats nationwide, and has been featured in CFO Magazine, Strategy@Work, Human Resource Executive Magazine. Althea is the author of Bosses & Orchards, a compelling and candid book about how to make your work relationship with your boss succeed. To discover how you can take your career to a new level, visit http://www.extreme-career-makeover.com/