You strive to do it all for the people around you; the man at your side and the tiny humans at your feet. The feeding, the cooking, the cleaning, the teaching, the caring, the driving, the listening, the pampering, the loving. The list goes on and you fall short on time, super powers and pop tarts.

Then the New Year comes along, looking all shimmery with supermom dreams. You jot down a list of “resolutions” and by February—RIP to that post-it note.

This year, it’s time to let go of fleeting New Year’s Resolutions.

Twenty-fifteen is a year for kindness.

For yourself, your family and your community. A year to live and let live with a new mindset: greet the world with a smile and show your children what it means to be kind.

In the midst of news filled with hatred and violence, good-hearted people make humanity hopeful again. We recognize human acts of kindness during tragedies, like the people that helped during the Boston Marathon.

Yet on a day-to-day basis, kindness is much quieter. It’s the way you talk to the person who bumps into you at the grocery store or cuts you off in traffic. It’s your willingness to help a friend in need, no matter how time consuming it may be. It’s how you react to obstacles and spilt milk and overflowing laundry bins.

When you start making empathy a priority, your children notice. In 2015, challenge yourself to raise kind kids.

To get inspired with ways to teach kindness, check out these 5 strategies from Harvard Psychologist Richard Weissbourd and journalist Amy Joyce on how to raise caring children.

When you find yourself feeling frustrated in everyday moments, take a deep breath. Running a household can be so chaotic. Be kind to yourself and create the space you need for little moments of relaxation.

The more energy you focus on kindness, the happier you and your kids will be in 2015.

 

Written By: Michelle Lenzen