You can never be in a bad mood when you are being kind to others. It is so easy to take one moment out of your day to be kind. Here is how you can spread kindness in 5 easy steps.

• First, be kind to yourself, easier said than done…But really the root of kindness is loving yourself enough to love those around you. 
• Second, every day be kind to one other person. Random acts of kindness work miracles. Try simply smiling or giving someone a compliment. Allow someone to go in front of you in line or hold the door for them. Tiny acts of kindness have a big impact. Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people. 
• Third, be kind to the planet. I call the earth Pachamama, which is a goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes. I like to hug a tree, an animal or a plant. I also like to put blessing pads on my feet when I go for a run or walk so that the earth, animals and people who come across my tracks will feel blessed.
  • What are blessing pads you might ask? Well, I actually made up blessing pads many many years ago. I was out on a hike one winter day with my friend, Ray Browning, who had these cool Salomon boots on. With every step he would leave an angel print because on the bottom of his boots was an angel carved out in the sole. I thought this was the coolest thing EVER. So of course I wanted to put them on the bottom of my shoes too, but I could not figure out how to make it happen. I am also not that great at drawing so I decided to “infuse my shoes.” I imagined that on the bottom of my shoes there were blessing pads and everywhere I ran the earth would feel blessed and loved (like giving the earth a massage).
  • Blessing pads work! But you have to really believe. I know they work because I used to do the same 5 mile run by my house over and over again with my blessing pads on. Then one day a forest fire started to spread towards our house, but it never crossed where I had run thanks to the blessing pads, so they work!
• Fourth, send kindness to all people, places and situations that have wronged you.
  • This is an amazing practice. Mean thoughts and words are ill-directed energy that hurt just as bad or even worse than a punch. If you don’t like something or someone in the news, instead of freaking out and working yourself up, try sending loving kindness. It will make you feel better and it could possibly make them feel better. It is worth feeling good!
  • If a negative thought about something or someone crosses your mind practice what my friend calls “letting go of my balloon.” Pretend like you have a deflated balloon and hold it up to your mouth. With each push of breath from the bottom of your diaphragm push out the negative thoughts into your balloon and envision it expanding. Once the balloon is full of the negativity you were feeling, simply let it go and watch it float away. Now your mind is free to be filled with positivity, the good stuff!
• Fifth, Kindness is free so remember to sprinkle it everywhere and anywhere, anytime at all. There is never a bad time for kindness.