It’s the first of July! Can you believe that we're already on our third group 30-Day Challenge?

Tracking expenses led many of you to learn more about your budgeting and spending habits in our second challenge.

Let's see how much positive impact we can make in this next group effort.

So Justin… What’s the Third Challenge About?

For the third 30-day challenge at Optimal Living Daily, we're going to put a smile on someone's face each day.

The theme of the challenge is: RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS.

CHALLENGE: Do one kind act per day throughout the month of July.

Did you know about the fascinating effects kindness has on us?

• Kindness can create a virtuous cycle that promotes lasting happiness and altruism. (UC Berkeley)
• Kindness can reduce pain, as dopamine, serotonin, and endogenous opioids are released by kind behavior. (Psychology Today)
• Kindness is contagious. Plus, compassion slows the aging process by reducing inflammation in the body. (Dr. David Hamilton)

Sometimes it's hard to be kind to others, whether it's because we've been hurt in the past, have difficulty trusting others, or are just having a bad day.

The idea is to “be kind anyway.” Not to the point where you're taken advantage of — but in terms of building a positive feedback loop between kindness and well-being through interacting with others.

Quick tip: Don't exhaust yourself by trying to do too much for everyone! Focus on a small act of kindness each day to savor the moment.

How to Participate and Be Included in the Book Raffles

1. Share that you're committed to the monthly challenge! You can do this in any or all of these ways:
   • Post a picture on Instagram while you're doing the challenge (include #OLD30Day and @OLDPodcast to notify and tag us)
   • Or comment on my post about the 30 day challenge in our Facebook Group (pics encouraged)
   • Or if you're not on those social networks, comment on this post below
2. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest updates.
3. Repeat #1 half way through (for accountability) and at the end of the month. I'll give reminders in the email newsletter.

Blog Posts to Give You Ideas and Inspiration

If you'd like to hear what others have to say about kindness, you can check out some of the blog posts that have been narrated here on OLD Podcast:

1. The Small Habit That Could Save the World by David Cain (Episode 915 of Optimal Living Daily)
2. Faith in Humanity: How to Bring People Closer and Restore Kindness by Leo Babauta (Episode 45 of Optimal Relationships Daily)
3. Kindness and Reason by Colin Wright (Episode 360 of Optimal Living Daily)
4. Book Excerpt: The Kindness Diaries (Episode 504 of OLD – now a Netflix series)
5. Book Excerpt: The Kindness Cure (Episode 784 of OLD)

You can also visit The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation website to get involved as a kindness ambassador!

Printable Download

The printout below has a list of kindness acts you can check off as you go along. And you can post your update as a comment, picture, or video story 🙂

There's a digital version below, or you can download a PDF version to print.

Relax and have fun as you carry out acts of kindness daily.

Why Join?

Our community is made up of friendly and supportive members who are always interested in optimizing their lives.

It is fun to have encouragement, accountability, and more among listeners of the podcasts 🙂

You can share your progress and pictures, and check the posts from other members such as:

FB comments and posts from the second 30-day challenge on “money tracking.”

What Else Do I Get?

We'll be doing book giveaways — and you can choose the book you want if you win! Names will be collected via the shares and comments on Instagram, Facebook, and here on this post, so be sure to follow the instructions above!

The book list includes (and some of the books are autographed!):

1. Push Journal by Chalene Johnson
2. 131 Method (signed) by Chalene Johnson
3. The Art of Productivity (signed) by Jim Stovall
4. The Power of Having Fun by Dave Crenshaw
5. Good Enough by Kim Foster Carlson
6. Live, Love, Explore by Leon Logothetis
7. Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life by The Minimalists

…and many. many more!

Can I Share an Idea?

Many of you sent in GREAT ideas, like:

• A social media detox
• Quitting junk food and soda
• Improving the quality of your relationships
• Getting rid of items
• Avoiding negative affirmations

You may already have an idea you’ve been wanting to do as part of a 30-day challenge.

Send us an email if you’d like to share your idea! We'd also like to hear what's working for you and what would make this process easier.

Some Kindness Quotes to Inspire You

Being kind goes a long way, as these quotes reflect:

• “Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” ~ Jackie Chan
• “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” ~ Scott Adams
• “I’ve been searching for ways to heal myself, and I’ve found that kindness is the best way.” ~ Lady Gaga

And here are some quotes from our subscribers and Facebook group members made progress with our second “money tracking” challenge:

• “Honestly, [money tracking] scares the living day lights out of me. I mentioned in a previous post that I like to ghost my problems and my money is definitely one of those things that I avoid hardcore because it gives me anxiety and I feel like if I don’t look at it I don’t have to face the situation. Obviously that’s just a recipe for more problems in the future so I’ve been working on facing my money head on because ignoring it doesn’t make it go away and could even make it worse!” ~ @fatimaldiallo
• “Four months ago I started keeping track of my finances in a journal. It was really hard at first, but now that I’ve gotten used to it, I don’t really want to stop. It helps me know where I’ve been so I know where I can realistically go in the future.” ~ @a_qutie_patutie

Now it's time to get excited for all the smiles you'll be encouraging over the next 30 days!

Justin Malik

Justin Malik is the creator and producer of the Optimal Living Daily podcast network and hosts the OLD personal development show. He is an award-winning podcaster and audiobook narrator, and defines himself as a life-long learner and entrepreneur.