This is the announcement post for the 14-Day Kindness Challenge held in Nov 2012, where we do different acts of kindness for 14 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Do you enjoy spreading kindness to others?
Do you like being a kind person to others?
Do you see yourself as a beacon of kindness in this world?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then the Kindness Challenge is for you!! :)
Come 1 November 2012, I will be kicking off the 14-Day Kindness Challenge, where all of us will.get together to do kind acts every day for 14 days! If you are excited about the idea and you want to be a part of the process, then read on!! :D
Introducing: The November Kindness Challenge!
Since 2010, I have been conducting regular challenges at PE, where everyone gets together each month to perform a challenge, ranging from living a better life, to becoming a better person, to.being more positive, to living a healthier life. The regulars here at PE would know the drill!
After stopping public challenges since six months ago, I thought this is a perfect chance to launch a new challenge and rally everyone at PE together to live a better life again! A kindness challenge would be perfect to help spread the message of kindness to everyone and get us going in being kinder people!
Besides, with World Kindness Day coming up in November 13*, Thanksgiving in November and Christmas coming up soon in December, what better time to launch a kindness challenge than now? :)
* Update Oct 26, ’12: I absolutely didn’t know that World Kindness Day is on Nov 13 when I created the November Kindness Challenge! It was only when a reader brought it to my attention that I realized it. How serendipitous is that??
It doesn’t matter whether you think that you are a kind person or not. Even for those of you who think you are already quite kind, the Kindness Challenge will still apply to you, for there is always propensity for us to be kinder people! No matter how kind you think you are, there is always room for improvement, room to be kinder. It’s all about challenging your limits and expanding your comfort zone!
What’s Going To Happen?
- Starting 1 November, which is Day 1 of the challenge, I will post a daily task (an act of kindness) on Personal Excellence (the very site you are reading now), for 14 days. The tasks for each day will be different, and will range from something…
- …as simple as giving your seat up to someone who needs it more than you to, to…
- …actions surrounding people in our daily lives like giving a genuine compliment and writing thank-you notes to people you appreciate, to…
- …more elaborate acts like writing a letter to someone who has made a real difference in your life and paying more attention to someone you have never thought of speaking to.
- Your task as the participant is to perform the task within the day itself.
- After you complete the task, share your results in the comments section of that day’s entry. Things to share include:
- Your experience doing the act of kindness
- How you felt when doing the act
- The response you received after doing the act (if applicable)
- Anything else you want to share.
- Throughout the day, you can read the results posted by other participants in the challenge as they do the same act of kindness. There are various ways you can interact with other participants:
- Comments sections of the daily task entries themselves.
- Twitter, where participants can connect with others via the hashtag Kindness Challenge.
- The daily task postings will stop on 14 November, the 14th day. A roundup post will be posted on 15 Nov where you will get to share your experience after being a beacon of kindness for two weeks, as well as create your plan to fully integrate kindness into your moving forward.
How to Sign Up!
Participation is 100% free! :D
- Reply to this post now with your intention to sign up!
- Get a friend to join the challenge with you! This is not compulsory to sign up, but I really think that it will make the challenge a lot more fun and richer! My challenge to you is to
- Tell a friend or family member (just ONE person; if you want to share it with more people, you are welcome to do so!!) about the Kindness Challenge happening on Nov 1st!
- Share this page with him/her/them so he/she/they can read the details, and
- Get him/her/them to sign up officially (via replying to the post) so that both/all of you can do it together!
Blog About Your 14-Day Kindness Journey!
For those of you who run a blog, I encourage you to blog about your experience with the Kindness Challenge from 1 Nov through 15 Nov! Share about the challenge with your readers, then write about your experience with each task starting from Day 1, 1 Nov. This will add a layer of accountability for yourself, and also let you serve as an inspirational example to your own readers as they see your results from performing each kind act!
Read more: Blog about Your 14-Day Kindness Journey!
Spread the Word!! Let Others Know of Your Participation!!
I implore you to spread the word about the November Kindness Challenge to others! Let’s spread the message of kindness to as many people as we can!!!
Spread the word via emailing this announcement/link to a friend, sharing the announcement Facebook, retweeting on Twitter (with hashtag: Kindness Challenge), and posting on your blog if you own a blog! The more people we can get to join the challenge, the more explosive the challenge will be for us!
(Convenient share buttons can be found at the bottom of the post. :) )
Ensure You Get All Updates on the Challenge
To ensure that you don’t miss out on any updates regarding the challenge, below are several channels to keep you in the loop.
1. Newsletter
Subscribe for the Personal Excellence newsletter to receive the daily tasks directly into your inbox on the day itself, starting Nov 1.
On top of that, you will also get you 2 members-exclusive ebooks, 101 Things To Do Before You Die and Inspiring Quotes of All Time, and a life-time access of free personal excellence articles as part of your PE subscription. :)
2. RSS Feed
If you read RSS feeds, subscribe to the RSS Feed so each task will load up on your feed reader on the day itself.
Get Ready to Rock the Challenge!!
Are you ready to be kinder than you have ever been? Get ready for the first task come Nov 1! :) Remember to share the challenge with your friends and family on your social media channels and get them to sign up with you! Let’s get rolling in a week’s time! :)
Update on Nov 14 ’13: The kindness challenge is now over: we had an amazing run with 810 participants, so thank you all of you for your wonderful participation! While the challenge is over, you can still do it in your own time. Start off with Day 0’s task with a friend/family member: Get at least ONE Friend / Family Member to Join the Challenge!
(Image: Hands holding red seeds)
