Spontaneous Acts of Kindness

This week, I challenge you to nice things for almost everybody you come in contact with. These people shouldn't be expecting anythng, and you should have no thought of reward.

Here are some ideas. Let's say you're in the supermarket. There are a lot of things you can do or say.

You can smile and say, "excuse me" when walking in front of someone. You can get something on a high shelf for someone in a wheelchair, and treat them like a human being.

You can help someone find that elusive "something" that they're searching for. You can remark to the lady next to you how pretty her hair (or dress, or nails, or anything you're impressed with) looks. You don't have to make it up; you just show appreciation for something you already appreciate, so they know you appreciate it.

You can tell the produce manager how impressed you are with the way things look and how easy it is for you to find things. You can tell the store manager how impressed you are with the produce manager! You can compliment the cashier on how fast and efficiently she bagged your order.

You don't have to stop with the grocery store. The list is endless of all the positive interactions you can make with people, all day long. Once you get in the habit, you'll find more and more ways to brighten someone's day. Then you can come home and do the same thing with your family. If that doesn't give you a good feeling, I don't know what will!

The best thing is that when you're brightening someone else's life, you're also brightening your own just as much, if not more.

If you do it right, you can start a chain reaction of kindness and goodness and appreciation that will continue all day long for lots of different people. Wouldn't that make you feel like you really did accomplish something?

I guarantee you that if you ever get down, all you have to do is do something for someone else, and you'll instantly feel better. And making this a habit will give you a GREAT feeling 100% of the time. For try it for one day - you'll see what I mean!