Episode 7: Kindness

Content warning: This episode briefly references a suicide note to highlight how a simple smile can change a life.

Greg and Rich unpack kindness—what it is, why it matters, and how small daily actions create big ripples. They explore the science (oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, cortisol), the “helper’s high,” and real health benefits like lower stress and stronger immunity. With practical tips for self-kindness, leadership, and workplace culture, plus everyday examples (returning grocery carts, praising customer service, smiling at strangers), this conversation shows how kindness boosts well-being and performance while shaping families, communities, and organizations. Learn more and share your stories at kindnessrx.org.

Greg
00:02 - 00:32
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Support and Kindness podcast with Greg and Rich. I'm Greg and in the room today we've got Rich as well and it is October the 18th 2025. It's getting closer and closer towards Christmas. I haven't seen any Christmas commercials yet but now that i've said that i usually don't see those until the back of thanksgiving or that's at least what it used to be but not anymore today's topic is kindness quite a powerful topic big subject to cover wow how do

Greg
00:32 - 00:38
we do any justice to that rich any thoughts on that on kindness where gosh where do we start wow kindness

Rich
00:38 - 01:20
it's it's a big topic i did some research looking into it to see how i could best summarize it what i could contribute to today's topic because i know that just from you and i talking we expressed that it gives positive vibes or positive reinforcement to both the giver and the receiver of mental and physical benefits of kindness so i wanted to look into what those mental and physical benefits were i found that there are Hormones serotonin and dopamine and oxytocin that are released when performing an act of kindness or when someone is kind to you,

Greg
01:20 - 01:28
you know the also done studies where even just observing someone being kind observing act of kindness and kind things releases chemicals as well.

Rich
01:28 - 01:29
That's wonderful.

Greg
01:29 - 01:33
Yeah, as if you were doing them for someone or, you know, they've done a lot of studies.

Rich
01:33 - 01:53
I think that also just defining kindness is the consideration of others needs or feelings or their differences is important as we get into a more and more intolerant environment. it's important to think about people's differences and people's feelings and be considerate of them.

Greg
01:53 - 02:10
Yeah, that's a huge one, especially in today's climate, like you said, the intolerance. I think we need unity now more than ever, you know. I mean, we've still got more in common than we have against, right? But yeah, sometimes it's hard to be nice to someone who's not nice back, trying to rise above that.

Greg
02:10 - 02:26
So yeah, with the oxytocin, that's the chemical that when a mother's bonding with a child and stuff, that's the oxytocin. And the endorphins are the body's natural opiates. I didn't know we had opiate receptors in the brain. You've heard of the runner's high?

Rich
02:27 - 02:27
They're

Greg
02:27 - 02:32
phenomenal, the helper's high. Did you come across that on your research, Rich? I

Rich
02:32 - 02:35
saw that. I saw that. What did you see about that?

Greg
02:35 - 02:48
Yeah, well, the help is high. It's like you can kind of get high on helping people because of the oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, like a feeling of euphoria and highness like you would with a runner's high. You know, they keep pushing themselves. Of course, I don't know.

Greg
02:48 - 02:54
Look, look at me. I ain't going to go jogging. I could have a heart attack, right? Well, you know, but I'm an exerciser, though.

Greg
02:54 - 03:02
Every day I'm up one, two and then the other sock. But that's about it. Yeah, those endorphins, those chemicals, hormones and stuff. and you know it's good for weight control.

Greg
03:02 - 03:39
I joke about being overweight and stuff but it lowers cortisone the stress hormone as well so it doesn't just produce some hormones but it lowers cortisone as well and that's been found to reduce blood pressure along with the effects of oxytocin enhances that as well and can dilate the blood vessels. They did studies as well people who are happier earn more. I don't know which is the correlation with that if because they're because they're happier they earn more they get further along in the career because people like them or if it's that you know because they're earning more that they're happier but there's there's definitely a correlation there

Rich
03:39 - 03:41
to your physical health oh gosh yeah

Greg
03:41 - 03:42
yeah

Rich
03:42 - 03:55
additions i i know that decreased levels of cortisol and a stronger immune system are also symptoms of improved health, improved mental health, physical health as a result of kindness. Yeah,

Greg
03:55 - 04:04
and actually live longer. Yeah. Which is amazing. And then you can get into, you know, businesses and corporate companies and organizations that incorporate kindness into the workforce.

Greg
04:04 - 04:24
You know, it's good for public relations, It's great for employee relations, puts more money on the bottom line. People who are happier are more innovative. There's less absenteeism, reduced turnover, improved retention. People who work for forward-facing companies that adopt a kindness policy, they're happier in their work, more productive.

Greg
04:24 - 04:37
There's a lot to be gained from that. It's part of leadership. And I know we were talking when we initially said maybe we'll do kindness as a topic, and you had mentioned leadership and kindness as well, Rich. Can you remember what you were telling me about that?

Rich
04:37 - 05:03
You know, that's a wonderful point, Greg. That takes me back to my university days when I was studying management and leadership. And then after university, I got into coaching, which is leadership as a career. Kindness and positivity and self-esteem can make such a difference in an employee or a player.

Rich
05:04 - 05:56
or a subordinates performance, or in your own performance, feelings, acts of kindness to improve one's self-esteem, just a simple smile, a simple hello, a simple, hey, you did a good job on that TPS report to steal a line from office space. But to take a simple moment out of your day as a person interacting with others, You don't have to be in a leadership position you have an opportunity to impact someone else's day and guide their day it's not a leadership position but you have a guiding position in the way someone's day goes we all do. by improving people's mental health, by simply boosting their happiness hormones.

Rich
05:57 - 06:02
It doesn't take much. Simple smiles to strangers.

Greg
06:02 - 06:22
They did a thing once, a study, not to lower the tone of the conversation, but it was sad cases from the Brooklyn Bridge, people who had jumped to their deaths. I think it was the Brooklyn Bridge. And notes that had been found, and the saddest note they found, it said, if one person smiles at me on the way, I won't go through with it. You know, can you imagine finding that note?

Greg
06:22 - 06:32
And like you said, a smile could have just saved a life. I mean, it really is that serious. You'd mentioned self-kindness as well. We mustn't forget that.

Greg
06:32 - 07:04
we can't be kind to other people without being kind to ourselves and that's critical too and I compare that to you're on the plane and you're over the ocean you're cruising at 40,000 feet or whatever and then the next thing you know there's an engine failure and another engine failure and the oxygen masks drop down And what do they tell you to do? They tell you to secure your own mask and make sure your own mask is secure before you put the mask on your child. And they do that because if you put that mask on your child and then pass out, who's going to get the child off the plane?

Greg
07:04 - 07:08
And it's that critical with self-kindness as well. It's like putting your own mask on, isn't it?

Rich
07:09 - 07:34
Yeah, it's absolutely vital that we care for ourself. If we're a caregiver, we have to practice self-care in order to take care of the people that we're in charge of. We have to get that oxygen on ourself in order to be able to be conscious long enough to get that mask on the child. It's our responsibility to practice self-care.

Greg
07:34 - 08:16
You know one of the things that hit me about the importance of kindness and self care, a thing that really hit me like a two by four between the eyes once was, I'm not very kind to myself, I'll tell myself some horrible things but you know depending on your belief system, but in Christianity in the Bible they say to love your neighbor as yourself or to treat your neighbor as you treat yourself and I thought to myself if I don't treat myself very good and I'm treating the neighbor the same way as I'm treating myself I'm like wow that kind of that that that was a bit of a wake-up call for me you know just from that biblical perspective the importance of kindness is all through history all through times all through the culture an interesting tangent that I went off on one of the times with kindness.

Greg
08:17 - 08:38
I wish I had some examples but I don't. But some things which are kind in one culture will be something different in the other culture. One thing that's a compliment in one culture will be an insult in another culture. So I think a kindness to humanity, finding out about other cultures and belief systems and stuff like that.

Greg
08:38 - 08:51
You went about, you know, not just tolerance but, you know, living together and sharing the planet. You know, we could all learn a little bit about each other and spread a kindness on that perspective. You know, we can tear walls down instead of putting walls up, you know.

Rich
08:52 - 09:01
Right. In the Western world, we're taught the golden rule. But in a lot of the world, they're taught the silver rule. What's the golden rule, Rich?

Rich
09:02 - 09:05
the golden do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Greg
09:06 - 09:06
Got you.

Rich
09:06 - 09:16
OK. Sorry, I just I didn't share that. But the silver rule is is more of a negative ethical principle. Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you.

Rich
09:17 - 09:45
Unlike the golden rule, it focuses on avoiding harm rather than on actively doing good. So it requires you to avoid Things that would bring you distress or pain it can be interpreted as a principle of like as like a way to set boundaries or a way to. not cause harm, to emphasize kindness by not causing harm to others.

Greg
09:46 - 09:58
Right, right. Oh, there's a Buddhism belief. Muta is the Buddhist definition, I think, of the belief system. I'm going to Google this because now it's going to really annoy me.

Greg
09:58 - 10:11
Okay. Appreciative joy or metta, loving kindness, which are two of the four Buddhist brahmaviras or divine abidings. So yeah, it's to do with loving kindness in the Buddhist concept. So that's interesting.

Greg
10:11 - 10:33
So you've got the golden rule, the silver rule, and then there could be the other rule, right, which is do unto others as they would have done unto themselves, you know, treat people the way that they would like to be treated. There's another, I don't know if there's a framework for that, or whether that would be the support and kindness rule. That's a good one. So yeah, some interesting stuff there, Rich.

Greg
10:33 - 10:40
Definitely some interesting stuff. On your travels, do you have any good examples of kindness that you've seen lately or heard about?

Rich
10:40 - 11:07
Well, there's just the little things, you know. I always look for basic actions that I can take. I know the simple things. If I see, if I'm at the grocery store and I see a parent putting their groceries and then their child into the car, I take a minute to let them finish and then I ask if I can return their cart for them or take their cart for them

Rich
11:08 - 11:47
because nobody wants to leave their child in the car to go return a cart. It's a little thing that I learned when I had young children that are those awkward moments on a hot day. Or you know that you never think of until you're a parent and you're in that moment you realize what am i supposed to do when i have to return my shopping cart you know. So whenever i see a you know a parent in the parking lot i always just wait a little bit and say i'll take that for you it's just a little act of kindness that i've kinda keyed in on.

Greg
11:47 - 11:57
The next time you go to the grocery store and you see a cat in the middle of the lot, don't get upset. Could have been someone, you know, an elderly person or a pregnant person or a young mother or something like that.

Rich
11:57 - 11:59
Yeah, they didn't have an option. Yeah. Plus it's

Greg
11:59 - 12:02
job security, right? For the people who work there. Come on.

Rich
12:02 - 12:06
Yeah. Not everybody sucks. Some people don't have a better option.

Greg
12:06 - 12:22
Right, absolutely. I know I always look for opportunities to be kind and I don't get out and about a whole lot because I'm disabled. And, you know, for one reason or another, I don't get out and about a lot. But what I do do is I talk to people on the phone quite a bit, you know, whether it be providers, doctors, you know, the boss, the pharmacy.

Greg
12:22 - 12:42
And, you know, there's a ton of opportunities. Anytime that you're on a phone call with someone, if someone's gone above and beyond to help me, I'll make an effort of saying, you know, do you have a supervisor or a boss that I can say thank you to for your assistance? You know, and you immediately you can hear that person's demeanor change on the phone. They're like, oh, really?

Greg
12:42 - 12:50
You know, like, yeah, yeah, you've been a great help. Oh, well, there's no need. No, seriously, I'd like to, you know, we could give, you know, Bill's number or whatever. I wonder if he's there.

Greg
12:50 - 12:55
He let me translate. Yeah. Oh, well, yeah. I just like to talk to you about your employee, Jane.

Greg
12:55 - 13:23
You know, I had this question. and she was able to look and find the information that I needed and it's all right oh yeah oh yeah yeah she's a good employee yeah you know I don't know if you recognize your employees at all but you know whatever you're paying it's not enough really or whatever you know and you just you make that person's day and then the supervisor that gets that call I've got to tell you normally as a supervisor when you get a call it's usually an upset customer And that's why they're asking for a supervisor. And then when you say, hey, I want to say, thanks.

Greg
13:23 - 13:28
It lifts their day. It's like a two for the price of one. It really is. And then you get out of it.

Greg
13:28 - 13:32
So it's a triple whammy. Isn't that something else?

Rich
13:32 - 13:32
That's

Greg
13:32 - 13:34
absolutely.

Rich
13:34 - 13:35
That's a fantastic point.

Greg
13:36 - 13:47
Yeah, throwing a rock in the pond, right? And those ripples. They do talk about the ripple effects of kindness, but that's where it's at. That's where it starts.

Greg
13:47 - 13:52
It starts with, have a nice day. I like your hair. You look nice today. Oh, what's that cologne?

Greg
13:53 - 14:04
I wanted to say thank you or whatever. Hey, we got disconnected. Thank you so much for calling me back. Do you know how many people don't call you back when you're disconnected and they're the people that should call you back?

Greg
14:05 - 14:20
So why wouldn't you say thank you? And then when they're going about their day, now they're happier. So there's more chance that they're going to do nice or say nice to someone else, and there's your ripples that are starting. Absolutely.

Greg
14:20 - 14:30
But what about you? What do you think kindness is? I'd be interested in hearing if you could let us know at kindnessrx.org. But have you seen any acts of kindness?

Greg
14:30 - 14:37
What do you do to be kind to people? Do you do kindness together as a family? That's a great thing. Teach the young ones.

Greg
14:37 - 14:56
kindness and model by example. There's lots of opportunities to be kind in our schools, our workplaces, our homes, our neighborhoods. It's not just building a well in Africa, which is very important and not to diminish that, but it's that smile as well. Don't think that you can't do something because you can.

Greg
14:56 - 15:00
You can do a lot. You can say, have a nice day. Any other thoughts, mate?

Rich
15:00 - 15:18
I don't think so. Well, I don't know that we mentioned it at the very beginning when we were defining kindness. So I want to mention it here. It's doing all of the things that we mentioned without the expectation of praise or reward, without expecting something in return.

Rich
15:18 - 15:28
And that's so important. It's this selfless act of doing all of these things that we talked about, not doing it for your own benefit.

Greg
15:29 - 15:47
And I'll put some of this information in the show notes as well, because it really is good information. Just to run down again, the benefits of kindness, you've got the feel-good hormones, oxytocin, slow aging, strengthens the immune system, positivity, help you live longer. go on and on and on. I'll be doing the whole podcast over again if I did it

Rich
15:47 - 15:48
all.

Greg
15:48 - 16:05
But the point to take away is that there's many, many benefits to kindness. And if you can't get out and do something kind for someone else, just watch some kind videos as well, you know, you'll find them. and that'll make you feel good as well. But if you want to help yourself, help someone else.

Greg
16:06 - 16:07
That's the old adage, right?

Rich
16:07 - 16:09
Thanks for another great week, Greg.

Greg
16:09 - 16:16
Yeah. All right. Well, let us know at kindnessrx.org and have a safe week. Rich, take care of yourself, my friend.

Greg
16:16 - 16:25
Good talking as always. If you've got a topic that you'd like us to discuss, let us know that at kindnessrx.org and we'll look at that too. Thanks, Rich. Thanks, Greg.