Welcome to Day 12 of 31 Days of Connection! Find links to all the posts in the series as they are published on the Day 1 post. Have you signed up to receive my posts by email? Click here now to do it!
Connecting Through Acts of Service and Kindness
Acts of service is considered one of the love languages that I mentioned in yesterday’s post. But we do acts of service and acts of kindness all the time for all sorts of different reasons, not just to express love and appreciation. Performing acts of service and kindness for people or with people is another great way to connect and strengthen a relationship.
Acts of service or kindness can be small or large. It might be small like taking somebody’s dishes to the kitchen or it might be larger like cooking a meal for a friend or even bigger like fixing a house or car. It’s going out of your way to do something nice for somebody else with no expectation of anything in return. It can be something that you do for one person or it can be something that you do along with others, for one person or a group of people. These are not random acts of kindness or service – those are great but do not help you build connection. These acts of service would be done for people that you are trying to develop or strengthen a relationship with.
When you perform an act of service or kindness for a person, the goal is to bless that person without expecting anything in return. Of course connection is a two-way street, but you will find that stronger connections and relationships happen with the right people naturally when you aren’t looking for reciprocation. And you’d be surprised how much it benefits you when you are only focused on how you can bless another person.
Acts of Service Ideas
The best way to think of acts of service to do for family and friends is think about the things that they really dislike doing or never have enough time to get done, like doing the dishes, organizing a garage, cleaning up a yard, washing a car, getting the oil changed, cooking a meal, babysitting for free for an evening, etc. It can also be doing something when asked – it doesn’t have to be spontaneous or just your idea. Sometimes an act of service is about saying yes to a person’s need for help even when it is inconvenient for you.
Doing acts of service as a group is a great way to build connection. Not only do you bless the person you are helping, but you are building relationships with the people you are working with. This might be volunteering to build a home, cleaning up a neighborhood, cooking for an event, creating a website, etc. There are so many acts of service that a group of people can do and have fun while doing it!
Day 12 Daily Connection Challenge:
Perform 1-2 small and simple acts of service or kindness today for a friend or family member. Plan 2 bigger acts of service to do in the next week for somebody that you would like to improve your relationship with. Think of a group act of service that you could join in or help organize to bless somebody you know that has a need.
Thank you for joining me for Day 12 of 31 Days of Connection! Have a beautiful day and I’ll see you back here for Day 13!