The Quiet Power of Kindness

When we talk about health, we usually go straight to food, exercise, sleep, stress… all the things.  They all matter.

What if we thought a little bit outside that box?

What if part of improving our health isn’t just:

●      Eating better

●      Exercising more

●      Taking the right supplements

●      Sleeping better

●      Getting toxins out of our lives (well, as much as possible!)

They’re all important.  But what if there’s something quieter… something easily overlooked, that influences those things indirectly.

Does our environment matter?  Yes, absolutely!  And not only our external environment, but internal environment!

Our body wants to feel safe.  And we are under heaping amounts of stress in our normal (what we call normal) everyday lives.

If stress is an issue in your life, causing your health to struggle, this is one thing that will help that.

The Body Is Actually Asking a Question

One thing our body wants is to be SAFE!

Stress is one thing that leads our body to feel unsafe.  When we’re insecure, lack confidence, angry or fearful, we’re not in a safe place according to how our body interprets it.

Here’s an Example:

We don’t realize it, but our body is constantly asking:  “Am I safe?”

When the answer is Yes:

●      Digestion improves

●      Hormones balance more easily

●      Inflammation settles down

●      The brain becomes clearer and calmer

When the answer is No (even slightly):

●      Stress hormones rise

●      Blood sugar becomes more unstable

●      Sleep is affected

●      Inflammation increases

This isn’t some big event—it’s happening quietly, all day long.  And it’s either healing, or not.

Enter: Kindness.

Kindness Signals Safety

You receive a kind word.
Someone is patient with you (when you need that!)
Someone looks you in the eye and shows you understanding.

These aren’t just “nice moments.”

They’re signals to your nervous system:  “You’re okay.”

From a functional medicine lense, we’re always looking for root causes of imbalances:

What causes these Imbalances in our bodies?

●      Chronic inflammation

●      Hormone disruption

●      Gut issues

●      Fatigue

Answer:

👉 Chronic, low-level stress
👉 A nervous system that rarely feels at ease

Kindness—helps shift that.

Either Giving or Receiving

Kindness helps not just when someone’s kind to you.  It affects you the same when you give that gift of kindness to someone else.

It’s also about how we feel about our circumstances.  We may not be actually rushed, but if we feel rushed or misunderstood, or feel alone, but it affects us the same as if it was fact.

Kindness helps when:

●      You feel rushed… or feel you have no support

●      When you feel you’ve been criticized… or misunderstood

●      When you FEEL Alone…

If these feelings continue, they shape your internal chemistry over time.

And if you don’t think self-talk matters, it absolutely does!

So be kind and patient with yourself!

A harsh inner voice keeps the body in a subtle stress mode.  It all builds up, and when it becomes normal, your body will finally show you.

Your kindness to yourself can calm that.

So kindness actually plays a role in regulating our stress… our energy… and our overall health and well-being??  Yep.  Who knew!  It’s what our body experiences when it feels safe and supported.

The Functional Medicine Angle

In functional medicine, we ask:

“Why is the body out of balance?”  Again, we usually go to food, or lack of exercise, etc.

Sometimes the answer isn’t just food or toxins or lack of exercise.

But sometimes it’s this:

●      Long-term emotional strain

●      Lack of connection with the people around us

●      Feeling lonely or unsupported

●      Living in a constant low-grade stress state (and sometimes we may not even know this is happening!)

Kindness isn’t just a moral idea.  We definitely should be kind.  But it also affects our body’s systems behind the scenes.  It promotes normal healthy functioning of our heart, our lungs, nervous system, digestive and all the other systems.

Every interaction you have sends your body signals of safety… or not.

And your body responds accordingly.

Does Kindness fix everything?  No.
But it can be a great influence in improvement.

How can we help Ourselves?

How can we help ourselves (and help others at the same time)?

It’s can be pretty easy (not always), but sometimes we have to think about it to make it a priority.

●      Slow down enough to really listen to someone

●      Offer a genuine, simple word of encouragement or care

●      Notice where you’re being hard on yourself—and soften it just a bit (or a lot!)

●      Create small moments of quiet and calm in your day, instead of constant urgency.  This is truly SO important.

So the way we treat ourselves and others actually matters to our health.

These small changes truly end up making a big difference—in our LIFE, and in our HEALTH.

In addition, the other person will have a better day, and possibly pass it on to someone else.  And the bonus is, you’ll have a better day too.

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My husband is truly the kindest man I’ve ever known.  I was raised to be “nice” so I knew that much.  And I’ve considered myself to be kind… but realized over time it was a challenge to meet his standard. 

But I’ve appreciated this in him—and his kindness—from the first time I met him.  And over time, I’ve leveled up somewhat—well, most of the time. 

I’ll probably never measure up, but I do continue to work on it, and I can tell you—it does make your life (and the lives of those you touch) a little less stressful.

If you want to build more kindness into your life, you need to be ready to take a little bit of extra time.  Time to hold the door for someone; if someone makes you mad about something, just stop and think how blessed you are, and say a prayer for them to find the peace they need.

Be kind to people that you see that are less fortunate or who are acting wrongly.  No telling what they are going through.  And they might be dressed weird and act crazy, but you don’t ever know what problems they have—or what they’ve been through.  You might be exactly the blessing they need.

When you can make a difference… that difference is made, and the process is contagious.  It can spread a long ways.  No telling what your small act of kindness can do.

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Make it a priority to give yourself and those around you a feeling of safety and calm.

I’ve always heard that a little kindness goes a long ways.  I think it’d be good for all of us to experiment with that.

And better health doesn’t start with huge changes.  Sometimes it starts with:

A softer tone
A little more patience
Just a short moment of real connection

Because the body responds to all of it.

And over time, those small signals add up—to something much bigger than you might expect; a better day for you; a better day for someone else; feeling better, and better chances of your body being healthier.  Besides a break in your stress of the day.

Let’s try the Quiet Power of Kindness in healing our stress, and our bodies.

Thank you for reading; relax, care about yourself and others; be kind.  You’ll be setting yourself up with a foundation for better health.

Sharon

P.S.

Better health usually comes from small, consistent shifts over time.  This is one of the reasons I’m beginning to create more ongoing support if you want to continue caring for your health in a steady, realistic way.

If that’s something you’ve been looking for, reach out and let’s talk about it.

And for my one-on-one coaching clients, I am now offering periodic follow-up “Maintenance Coaching” after your coaching package.