The World Kindness Campaign is coming just in time. Nothing beats stress like kindness — and we’re all feeling stressed more than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pummel meetings and hospitality professionals with cancellations and, even worse, uncertainty about what each day will bring. The World Kindness Campaign launched to help planners, and everyone, develop more self-compassion through these trying times. Best of all, it’s free.
The World Kindness Campaign launched Oct. 14 to help bring a little more kindness into today’s stress-filled, anxiety-provoking and uncertain world. And no one could use a little more self-compassion, the fruit of kindness, these days than meetings and hospitality professionals. In fact, a survey compiled into the recent PCMA COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard found that COVID-19 continues to up the stress levels in an already stress-filled profession. It found that 47% of planners were anxious about the future, which is not surprising given the curve the delta variant has thrown into the meetings mix. Another 31% said they were exhausted and burned out — just a quarter felt hopeful, and a mere 7% felt inspired and creative.
No one needs to tap into the power of kindness more than people in the meetings and events industry, which is where the World Kindness Campaign kicks in. According to the campaign’s organizers, Big Changes, Small Shifts, “Researchers at U.C. Berkely found that people who were kind tended to have higher self-esteem, a greater sense of self-efficacy, less depression, less anxiety, and improved physical health. Overall, scientists learned that people who were kind or regularly engaged in informal acts of kindness tended to have higher well-being. In other words, when we are well (spirit, mind, and body), we are better equipped to face our obstacles with strength, clarity, and calmness.” The movement is spearheaded by Dr. Michelle Robin, who has been a big hit as a speaker at SITE, so you know she really understands the special stress people in this industry shoulder.
You can sign up for the World Kindness Campaign as a group or an individual to receive daily emails containing a small message about kindness, how it affects both the giver and the receiver, and suggestions on small acts of kindness you can do each day. No pressure if you just don’t have it in you to do that small act of kindness on those days where everything is overwhelming — though it can help you get through just that feeling, say campaign organizers.
There also are a few additional perks to joining the World Kindness Campaign, including the Small Changes Big Shifts podcast, where Dr. Robin invites surprise guests each week to talk about kindness in their lives and the difference it has made in their lives. All episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. The campaign also will be choosing a winner among the commenters on its Facebook page during its five-minute live episodes that will run daily throughout the 31-day campaign, which ends on Nov. 13, World Kindness Day. You also can share your own kindness stories, which the campaign will feature on its social media pages.
Last year the campaign reached more than 250,000 people.
While meetings and events professionals tend to think big and want to organize some big give-back corporate social responsibility event, just one small act of kindness each day can make a big difference to someone who is struggling.
Organizations that prefer to sign up a team, can do so at this website: https://www.smallchangesbigshifts.com/kindness-company-signup/. Individuals can sign up here: https://www.smallchangesbigshifts.com/kindness/.
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