You can accomplish by kindness what you cannot by force.” – Pubilius Syrus You may have heard the saying “nice guys finish last.” People often believe that being kind means you are weak and can be easily taken advantage of. But is this really true? We are taught that behind every smile there is an ulterior motive. We are suspicious and skeptical of others who are kind to us. Kindness does not equal weakness. On the contrary, it takes a great amount of strength to be kind to someone who thinks differently than you or is slowing you down in some way. People who perform regular acts of kindness are often more successful, have more social friends and are well liked than those who don’t. How kindness helps you succeed: • Kindness increases confidence. Studies show that kindness increases your self-worth. • People remember you when you are kind and willing to help others. It sets you apart from others. • Kindness creates a ripple effect. One person being kind in some way spreads to others, who in turn spread kindness. Kindness is contagious, fostering in more kindness. • Kindness evokes a sense of trust. In fact, studies show that even before establishing their own credibility, leaders who are kind and project warmth are more effective than those who lead by being tough. • Kindness helps increase employee performance. Being kind to others makes them happier which in turn makes them more productive. • Kindness bridges gaps between people. It can reach across barriers in language, gender, locality, religion and anything else that causes people to miscommunicate. Luis Benitez, who has summitted the Seven Summits 32 times, says that kindness and compassion are essential to overcoming terrible physical and mental challenges. He often encounters horrible challenges during his climbs. As an example, say you see someone limping on the day you need to reach the next camp. Instead of cursing their weakness and ignoring the pain they are in, you stop to bandage their feet so they can keep up with you. This is not just being altruistic. If a member of the party lost their ability to hike, your entire group may have to return to the start. Stopping to help a colleague ensures you achieve your own goals. Kindness is the secret to a successful and fulfilling life. Always be kind because your actions have a bigger impact than you realize not only on you but others as well.

“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams Do you remember how you felt when you had a tough day and a stranger smiled at you? Or the time you helped your neighbor carry in her groceries and how she still thanks you for it? Each of these small acts of kindness can make a huge impact on someone’s life. Small actions often lead to giant ripples. One small action can completely change the life of someone who then performs a kindness for someone else. And the cycle continues and grows. No matter how big or small the kindness is, it’s likely to have big significances to your own mental health. According to psychologists and researchers, the smallest acts of kindness can create a rebound effect on not only the receiver’s psyche but your own as well. For example, a smile increases their level of comfort along with making them happier. It puts you in a better mood as well. That simple smile could be the reason someone is lifted out of despair. Tiny acts of kindness can make a change in two ways; they are the catalyst for others to start invoking their own small kindnesses and they have a contagious affect on others. In other words, when we carry out tiny acts of kindness, other people see them, inspiring more kindness. Let’s look at another example. If you are friendly to the bus driver, he then in turn will be more likely to be more considerate to the next passenger. That passenger is more likely to go home and have a positive conversation with their family. People who have a tendency to do small things to spread kindness are more likely to take action in bigger ways as well. Here are ten ways small acts can have an impact. 1. Learn first aid. Learning first aid principles can help you be prepared to act if someone needs help in an emergency. 2. Be a part of a community clean up. Help clean up a park, neighborhood or local beach area. 3. Donate toys to the local prison or women’s shelter. 4. Donate flowers to someone in need in places like hospices, care homes or women’s homes. 5. Cook a hot meal for a neighbor whose been down on their luck lately. 6. Leave snacks in the breakroom. 7. Volunteer at your local Brownies/Scouts or boys’/girls’ clubs. 8. Donate books to your local library or to children in need. 9. Remove single use plastic from your life. Recycle plastics and other recyclables. 10. Leave uplifting notes in self help books at your local bookstore or library. Whatever you choose to do, each tiny act of kindness can have a big impact on others in ways you may never imagine. Each tiny act is observed and passed along to another making it grow into a big act.

It’s common to want to feel a sense of belonging. When we b elong, we are accepted as a member of the group. A sense of belonging is a normal human need just as our need for food and shelter is. When you feel like you belong, you feel your life has value and you cope with your emotions better. Sometimes though, we lose our sense of belonging. This can be for a myriad of reasons. Traumatic events could influence a person’s self esteem and self-compassion. Trauma often leaves survivors feeling out of sync with the rest of the world. They feel lonely, overwhelmed, anxious, turmoil and emotional pain that creates a sense they are different. As humans we are social beings. Our relationship quality is affected by our mental, physical and emotional health. As researcher and author Brené Brown explains, “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all men, women, and children. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong.” Regaining a Sense of Belonging One way to help regain a sense of belonging is through kindness. Kindness releases the feel-good hormone. It makes you feel happier and improves your mood. Here are some ways to regain your sense of belonging. • Contribute to the lives of others by offering to listen and be a sounding board for them. This not only brings them joy but will give you a feeling of connectedness. • Have compassion for others who are different for you. Spend time helping others who are less fortunate, have different likes or needs than you. • Let go of judgments that build walls. Instead focus on people by connecting with them. No one is perfect. We all have struggles. • Be kind in your words and way of thinking. Use words that offer strength, compassion, acceptance and caring. • Begin building healthy relationships with others using kindness. Healthy relationships are important to our sense of well-being. Help trauma survivors realize they are safe and secure by showing them kindness. • Turn towards your partners for support during tough times. • Give and receive compliments with kindness. • Be compassionate of others who are suffering. • Begin doing things that bring you joy. Volunteer at an animal shelter. Give your time at a soup kitchen. • Be kind to yourself instead of always putting yourself down. Take a compliment for what it truly is - an act of genuine caring and kindness. • Join groups or clubs that are interesting to you. Participate in discussions and be kind to those who are members. We all want to feel like we belong. When our sense of belonging becomes affected and destroyed by trauma or other factors, we need to find a way to regain it. Kindness to both yourself and to others is one of the easiest ways to begin gaining your sense of belonging back.

Kindness is something that I feel is leaving us a little bit - people are getting more self-involved. Cobie Smulders It seems life has taken us to a place where we no longer value kindness as a trait. In fact, kindness has been replaced with self-importance and wanting to stay impersonal. The question is why has the world become less kind? Is it that we no longer care about others? Do we believe kindness makes us weak? Is the lack of kindness from some global change? The truth is, kindness has become less and less important in our daily lives for several reasons. • We’re in a hurry. Life has become so fast paced, filled with appointments and places to be that we no longer take the time to simply listen to someone. • Technology has taken place of the human face-to-face, voice-to-voice interactions of the past. No longer do we pick up the phone or meet face-to-face to talk to others. Now we spend our time texting, posting, getting involved in others drama or simply playing mindless games on our cell phones, tablets, computers and even our watches. Technology has allowed us to say it’s okay to be late all the time. After all, we can simply text our friend we’re running late, and they’ll know. It’s taken away the common courtesies of saying thank you, hello, nice to meet you, please and “how can I help you”. We no longer smile at others when we see them. We no longer sympathize or help someone who is having a rough day. Instead we place an emoji on our social media post or in a text and call it done. There’s an app for everything. Want to have a relationship? Use this app. Want to order your dinner? Use this app. Are these apps taking away the connectedness we once had that created kindness? Maybe. • Self-centered and greed is another reason kindness has taken a backseat. Many people are focused on their own lives, on getting ahead and doing whatever is necessary to beat the other guy. People are more interested in taking care of their own self before they reach out and extend some type of kindness to others. We’ve become a society of “me first” that wasn’t seen as often just a few years ago. • Our environment causes us to withdraw from others. Living in crowded cities among strangers can make you quickly hide your natural tendency to be generous and kind to others. With crime, kidnappings, murders and other fears running wild in many cities, people have found it safer to keep to themselves. Road rage keeps people from stopping to help someone with car trouble. • Our upbringing was different 30 years ago. We believed in helping each other. Neighbors looked out for each other. People weren’t afraid to help the poor and needy. People and children were taught to respect others and to be trustworthy and honest. Today people are more afraid to show their kindness. There is fear that we will be attacked for what we say or do. We don’t want to appear vulnerable and to get hurt so we attack with words and actions as a way to self-protect ourselves. Kindness has taken a backseat to greed, technology, poor manners and the environment we live in. Instead of showing kindness we’re afraid to be seen as the nice guy because we might be taken advantage of.

"Constant kindness can accomplish as much as the sun making ice melt. Kindness causes misunderstandings, mistrust and hostility to evaporate." Albert Schweitzer Kindness seems to be missing in today’s society. People are more connected to their devices than to what is happening around them. They are self-absorbed. Kindness is oftentimes the last thing they think about. Without kindness our world would be filled with strife, discontent and anger. We’d see relationships fall apart or never start, countries disintegrate into constant war and our world completely changed. According to Dr John and Julie Gottman – founders of the Gottman Institute, which studies relationships – every successful relationship is, in the end, supported by kindness. What’s more, they claim the most important time you should be kind is during some type of conflict, such as when you are arguing with a partner and yet, this is the hardest time for most people to be kind. “Kindness is about showing empathy, acceptance and tolerance,” explains Lawrence Stoyanowski, a Vancouver-based therapist. “It’s about being able to scan your partner for things to appreciate rather than criticize.” Stoyanowski follows the principles set out by the Gottman Institute. Why Kindness As children and even as adults, we look for kindness from our family and friends. We give and receive kindness every day in some form. Kindness moves us. We remember past kindnesses done to and by us. Kindness nourishes, heals, strengthens and uplifts us. Many studies have shown that kindness though, is not only a good moral value but it is good for you. It benefits your brain, your body and your emotions in many ways. It is a foundation for a meaningful life. Here are 6 reasons why kindness is so important. 1. Kindness makes us happier. When we perform random acts of kindness, we activate areas of pleasure, social connection and trust in our brains. 2. It creates a positive loop in our mind. Kindness makes you happier and happiness makes you kinder. When you are happy, you are more likely to feel giving and kind towards others. 3. Kindness can create social connections and bonding. As humans, we’re preprogrammed to be a part of a group. Being a part of a group, a social connection of some type, enhances our physical performance and boosts mental clarity. Being kind allows us to be a part of a group. 4. Kindness helps with the healing process. When healthcare is delivered with kindness it can hasten the healing process, thereby shortening hospital stays. Kinder care leads to a range of outcomes including reduced pain, lowered blood pressure and less anxiety for the patient and caregivers. 5. Kindness can decrease or help prevent diseases. Kindness lowers our stress and anxiety levels and decreases pain because of the endorphins and feel-good hormones released at the time of the act. Positive emotions from kindness boosts your vagus nerve which regulates blood sugar. This helps the body prevent diabetes, strokes and heart disease. 6. Altruism has been shown to stimulate the reward area of our brain. Studies suggest that we get high on being kind. No matter how inconsequential an act of kindness might be, it is good for you. Without kindness life would be lonely, filled with anger and desolation, disease and stress. But when kindness is both given and received with no expectations in return, our lives are calmer, happier and we build meaningful connections to others.

NEW FEATURE ALERT! Canva just keeps on giving us what we want, am I right? This week on the blog, we've got a tutorial on how to make your elements MOVE! This is so fun for adding interest to your social media and it gets you more attention with the algorithms since video is typically promoted over static graphics! YAY! Check it out in the video above to learn more! As always feel free to grab some of my awesome Canva templates from the giant button below! They're designed to help you bring engagement on your social media channels! YAY

Hi friends! Soooooo I've actually gotten this question several times lately. Where do I find the logos from my brand kit. To be honest with you, I actually wasn't sure when the first person asked me. I couldn't remember where they were housed and had been using an alternate method without even realizing it! So, I figured I better make a tutorial! Watch the video above to learn where to find your logos in the brand kit inside of Canva! As always, feel free to grab some free Canva templates from the button below! These templates are designed to help drive engagement on your social media channels! Click the button to claim yours!

YOU GUYS! There has been an exciting new update in the world of Canva! I feel like at this point, every blog post is about a new feature. BUT I AM NOT MAD! Canva is constantly rolling out new features and I'm pretty excited about this newest one! They have expanded the collection of frames! Frames are the rolling hills place holders that you can drop your own images in! There are so much fun to use and can really take your design to the next level! Check out the tutorial to see where to find them and how some of them look! As always, feel free to hit the button below and check out my free Canva templates! These templates are designed to help you bring more engagement to your social media channels! Hit the button below to claim yours!

You heard that right! You can now make designer quality mockups right inside of Canva itself! Canva recently acquired Smart Mockups and proceeded to integrate the tool right inside of Canva's effects tab! And it works like a charm! This is really exciting for me as a Canva designer! It means more options for you guys! Now, to any of my long time smart mockups users out there, this certainly doesn't replace the real tool. There are bazillions of mockups on SM that Canva simply doesn't have! But, its great in a pinch, or if you don't want to pay the smart mockups price! Give it a try and let me know how it goes! Feel free to grab some awesome free Canva templates from the link below. They are designed to help you drive more engagement in your facebook group or on your profile!