Ten Kindnesses You Can Do Today
Take Personal Responsibility To Help Someone Else
by Michael D. Hume, M.S.
Why not make someone's day today? And if you can't do that, why not at least make someone's day brighter?
Here are ten ideas for things you can do today (maybe even all ten of them) to show kindness to someone else. Try doing at least one of these things every day this week, and see how you feel. Look back over the week and see if you don't think you had more of a tendency to smile... and less time to think about your troubles.
1. Hold the door open for someone.
2. Let a fellow driver pull out into busy traffic in front of you.
3. Do the dishes. If you always do the dishes, find some other chore you don't have to do, and do it.
4. If you are at the store, or the gas station, thank the person who cashes you out. Especially today - thank them for working on a holiday.
5. Call someone up and thank them for something you haven't had a chance to thank them for before.
6. Call someone up and apologize for something you should've apologized for before.
7. Leave a big tip. Really: do you need that $2.11 more than the server does? Round that tip up to ten bucks! It won't break you.
8. Call a family member with whom you haven't visited in a while... especially an elderly person who'd love to hear from you.
9. Go ahead and listen to a telemarketer's spiel. You don't have to buy what they're selling, but be polite, hear them out, and thank them for their call.
10. Do a favor for a co-worker, or for a customer if you're a business owner. Don't do it to make them "owe you one," just do it because it's kind. And kindness is a great starting point if you want to show inspirational leadership.
If you try, I bet you can come up with hundreds more ideas, and yours will be better than mine - especially for your life. But do something for someone today, and don't expect them to "pay you back." If they could, the act probably wasn't truly "kindness."
We're all in for a tough winter, I think, during these times of "economic reform"... but whether it's in business or personal life, kindness will go a long way toward helping each other through it.
by Michael D. Hume, M.S.
Why not make someone's day today? And if you can't do that, why not at least make someone's day brighter?
Here are ten ideas for things you can do today (maybe even all ten of them) to show kindness to someone else. Try doing at least one of these things every day this week, and see how you feel. Look back over the week and see if you don't think you had more of a tendency to smile... and less time to think about your troubles.
1. Hold the door open for someone.
2. Let a fellow driver pull out into busy traffic in front of you.
3. Do the dishes. If you always do the dishes, find some other chore you don't have to do, and do it.
4. If you are at the store, or the gas station, thank the person who cashes you out. Especially today - thank them for working on a holiday.
5. Call someone up and thank them for something you haven't had a chance to thank them for before.
6. Call someone up and apologize for something you should've apologized for before.
7. Leave a big tip. Really: do you need that $2.11 more than the server does? Round that tip up to ten bucks! It won't break you.
8. Call a family member with whom you haven't visited in a while... especially an elderly person who'd love to hear from you.
9. Go ahead and listen to a telemarketer's spiel. You don't have to buy what they're selling, but be polite, hear them out, and thank them for their call.
10. Do a favor for a co-worker, or for a customer if you're a business owner. Don't do it to make them "owe you one," just do it because it's kind. And kindness is a great starting point if you want to show inspirational leadership.
If you try, I bet you can come up with hundreds more ideas, and yours will be better than mine - especially for your life. But do something for someone today, and don't expect them to "pay you back." If they could, the act probably wasn't truly "kindness."
We're all in for a tough winter, I think, during these times of "economic reform"... but whether it's in business or personal life, kindness will go a long way toward helping each other through it.