We have all heard the saying that a little kindness can go a long way. Although we understand what small nice things can do to and/or for people, there are many times when we forget to do them. Sometimes you may forget to hold the door for the person walking behind you. Sometimes we forget to acknowledge when someone sneezes. Sometimes I forget to say thank you to a person because I believe they are “just doing their job”. Small acts of kindness can change a person's entire day and not to be dramatic, but a small act of kindness can change a person’s entire life. Here are 5 acts of kindness you should do today:
1.Tell someone you love that you appreciate them
Many of us have people in our lives who we know we would not be able to live without. These are the people that not only make us laugh and smile when we are happy, but they are also the people who cry with us when we are sad. We are so accustomed to having these people in our lives that we often forget to tell them how much they mean to us. We are guilty of thinking that they just inherently know that we love them. Why not tell them more often ? Let them know that without them, your life would be just a bit more dull.
2. Compliment a stranger
There is that time old saying that if you see something, you should say something. In terms of complimenting strangers, if you like someone’s jacket tell them. You truly never know what a person could be thinking about the way they look at a given time. Your small compliment can change the way they look at themselves for the rest of the day. Although compliments about someone’s physical attributes can be nice, it is also important to compliment people on their personality or actions.
3. Say thank you to the person serving you food
As a person who works in the food service industry, I must say that my opinion on this particular point is acutely biased. It does not matter whether the person works in a diner or McDonald’s they can use some respect and more receiving of the simple gesture of a “thank you”. Working in any field where you must interact with people directly is difficult. You are tasked with keeping yourself calm while keeping other people happy and satisfied. We have to deal with people of all origins and attitudes. Standing over and/or around food for more than an hour is enough to drive anyone insane. Please say thank you to your food service workers, even if they are just doing what they get paid to do.
4. Retweet someone’s promo tweet
This one is probably the simplest of them all. The only things you need are a Twitter account and one free finger. If you have a Twitter account, you have probably seen a tweet or two that has gone viral. In the comments of those viral tweets there is always someone trying to promote their art. Sometimes their art is visual while other times it is auditory. It may seem that these comments are annoying and spam like, but you must understand it from the artist's perspective. There are so many incredibly talented individuals whose work goes overlooked or unnoticed. Their comments under viral tweets are screams into the universe to say “look at me. I have a talent”. If you had an immense talent that no one seemed to appreciate, would you not partake in some self promotion ? Take the plunge and give a starving artist a like, a retweet, and even a follow.
5. Forgive someone
This one, out of all of the other tasks, is probably going to be the hardest. You should attempt to forgive someone today not for them, but for yourself. When you cannot forgive someone, you bare the burden of feeling and keeping in negative energy. You allow that hatred or spite to live within you. You even allow those feelings to control you. Although it is immensely hard, forgive. Forgive someone for wronging you. Forgive someone for controlling you. Forgive someone for lying to you. When you are done forgiving them for whatever they have done, forgive yourself.
