Welcome to the 30-Day Kindness Challenge!

The 30-Day Kindness Challenge Starts Tomorrow!

Thank you for doing the 30-Day Kindness Challenge with us. We start tomorrow!

Most reminder emails are very short. This one, however, will share a few reminders and tips.

Who is Your Target for Kindness?

If you haven't already, pick someone with whom you want a better relationship. (A key colleague or subordinate, the rude hairdresser at the next chair, the new boss with whom you want to start on the right foot, your grumpy Assistant Principal...) This should be someone you interact with fairly regularly. Then for 30 days, you will:

1. Say nothing negative/negatively about your person—either to them or about them to somebody else. If you must provide negative feedback to or about a colleague for vital reasons, be constructive, helpful and encouraging, without a negative tone. ("Good first try on the spreadsheet. But it looks like you missed the instructions on the precise data we need to manage inventory. So go back and separate the quarterly revenues by product type.")

2. Every day (or as often as possible), find one thing that you can sincerely praise or affirm about your person and tell them, and tell someone else. (i.e. Say, "Boss, I really appreciate you keeping our staff meeting on the calendar this week even though you have so much prep for the Board meeting." Without bringing up that she cut the meeting time in half and you didn't get everything done.) Caution: Keep your praise and affirmation professional and avoid the perception that it is personal or has unintended signals. (An easy litmus test: if your person has a romantic partner, would that person feel totally comfortable if you were to give that praise in front of them?)

3. Every day (or as often as possible), do one small act of kindness or generosity for your person. Stay after work for a few minutes to help your Assistant Principal clean up after the teacher training. Give your subordinate an extra 15 minutes of explanation about how spreadsheets work. Bring your fellow hairdresser a sandwich back from the deli, since you know she didn't get out.

About the emails

Each day you will receive an email with optional daily hints/ideas for ways to do the Challenge. Customize as appropriate for your situation, or come up with something totally different. Just remember: the Challenge is to do the three elements each day, whether or not you use the daily tips.

Success Strategies

• Use a journal. As you go, capture in a personal journal or notebook key actions you take, how your person reacts, what works well, and what you are learning.

• Find out your Kindness Quotient. Before you start, find out your Kindness Quotient and a few key things you need to work on, via this brief online assessment.

• Get the book. Kindness is a superpower; learn how to wield it well. Go deeper, and find your key blind spots and strengths in The Kindness Challenge by Shaunti Feldhahn.

• Create a book club. The journey is better together. See our FREE group resources here.

Ready to start? Look for the Day 1 email tomorrow. And thanks for joining us in this journey to improve our relationships, our workplaces—and ourselves.