helping others

Repost from 11/29/2016

A few years ago around this time of year I made a New Year’s Resolution, one that I would actually keep: I would do one kind thing per day for the next year.  It could not be anything that I do normally, like hold the door open for the next person behind me.  It had to be above that.  So on January first I started my year of one-a-day kindness acts.

Often, the way I started my day was to put an extra tip in the Starbucks tip jar.  It had to be over and above the normal amount.  Some days I put in an extra $5 if I was feeling flush.  I told my Barista about my resolution and let her know that if I put extra money in the tip jar so early in the morning, I could go back to being my regular nasty self for the rest of the day!  She later told me how much mileage she got out of that story.  So an extra tip in the morning allowed me to check off kindness on my list for the day.

Honestly, I can’t remember what many of the other acts of kindness were.  They were small, like putting a couple of coins into an expired parking meter, or digging through my purse to put any extra change in the Ronald McDonald House receptacle at McDonald’s.  I am not talking about a lot of money, I am talking about pennies here.  Pennies that were not hard to let go, but added up by the end of the year.  I think what I liked about these tiny donations was that they were anonymous, no one knew about them.  No tax receipts.  No thank yous.

I knit, so I knitted hats for babies.  I knitted a hat for my son, who is not a baby.  I signed up for extra volunteer shifts.  I let people go ahead of me in line almost every day.  And, while I would normally help anyone struggling with packages to the car, I did so more readily.  I was aggressive with my helping hands.  I was on the front line of helping hands!  I may have frightened one or two people.

Who Benefits?

And who benefitted most from the deeds…I did.  As soon as I made it happen I felt great!  It was a purposeful act daily and it improved my attitude.  No matter who you are, when you do something for others you feel great.  It’s that simple.  So in 2017, I am going to have a Resolution Re-Do and do it again.  Not for anyone else, just for me.  To make me feel good.  To put a spring in my step.  It is a selfish act on my part because I remember how good it made me feel.  Let’s face it, this year has been rough and so divisive that we could all use a little attitude adjustment.

Feel free to join me in adding one extra kindness each day and see how it changes your attitude.  You will be amazed at how making niceness a priority changes your outlook on life!