365 Acts of Affection: A Practice, Not a Performance

There is a quiet misconception that affection is something we feel.

In truth, affection is something we do.

It lives in the smallest, most ordinary moments — the ones that rarely make headlines or strategy decks, yet quietly shape how safe, seen and human we feel in the world.

That understanding sits at the heart of The Affection Economy: a values-led way of living, leading and relating that recognises care, presence and integrity not as softness, but as essential infrastructure.

It’s why I’ve created 365 Acts of Affection.

Not as a campaign.
Not as a challenge.
And certainly not as a performance.

But as a daily practice.

In the weeks following the terror attack at Bondi Beach, a simple idea resurfaced in our community. At a public gathering, a rabbi invited us to consider our mitzvah — a Jewish tradition that names a small, concrete act of goodness.

Not symbolic.
Not performative.
Practical.
Lived.

The reminder was gentle but powerful: if hatred spreads through words and actions, so does goodness. Darkness cannot extinguish light. In that spirit, each act in this practice can be understood as a mitzvah in its simplest sense — a deliberate choice to meet the world with care, even when it would be easier not to.

Why acts — not advice

We are not short on insight.

We know we should listen better.
Slow down.
Put our phones away.
Be kinder. More present. More human.

What we’re short on is translation — the bridge between values we believe in and behaviours we actually live.

Acts do that work.

An act is small enough to be doable.
Specific enough to be embodied.
Gentle enough to be repeated.

You don’t need to overhaul your life to practise affection.
You only need to choose one moment — and meet it differently.

Why daily — not grand gestures

We tend to associate change with scale.

Big statements.
Big moments.
Big transformations.

But anything we genuinely want to improve at — we practise.

Not once.
Not when it’s convenient.
But regularly.

I know this personally. Yoga doesn’t change my body or breath because I understand it. It changes me because I return to the mat — again and again — even on the days I’d rather not.

Affection works the same way.

It isn’t strengthened through intention alone, but through repetition.

Daily practice builds muscle memory — not just in the body, but in how we listen, respond, notice and care.

A pause before replying.
Eye contact that lasts a beat longer.
Listening without rehearsing your response.
Returning when your mind wanders.

These moments are almost invisible — yet they quietly recalibrate how we relate to ourselves and one another.

That’s the work.

Why 365

Because affection isn’t seasonal.

It doesn’t belong only in crisis or celebration.
It belongs in ordinary days.
Hard days.
Repetitive days.

Three hundred and sixty-five acts isn’t about perfection or completion.
It’s about continuity.

You can miss a day.
You can repeat an act.
You can start again.

This isn’t a streak to maintain — it’s a rhythm to return to.

How this will live

Each day in 2026, I’ll share one act — quietly — on Instagram @affection.economy
No explanation. No optimisation. Just an invitation.

Each week, I’ll share a longer reflection on LinkedIn and through The Story Maker, weaving the acts together into what they reveal and soften.

All 365 acts live permanently at:
jetswain.com/365-acts

Not as content to scroll past — but as a living practice.

What this is — and what it isn’t

This isn’t self-help.
It isn’t wellness.
It isn’t productivity dressed up as care.

It’s a values-led practice grounded in presence, agency and human dignity — for individuals, leaders, parents, teams, and communities.

A final invitation

Choose one moment today —
and meet it with a little more care than you otherwise would have.

That’s how economies change.
Quietly.
Relationally.
One act at a time.

— Jet Swain

Author’s Note:
This piece was originally published here on The Story Maker.
It is available for republication, syndication, or editorial adaptation.
For commissions or licensing, please get in touch with Jet Swain