With the holidays coming up, people spend on average about $800-900 just on gifts for friends, family members, and coworkers. The gifts that are purchased, however, are typically things that are hardly even used and they often collect dust on the shelf next to other presents from last year.
So my challenge for others is to give a different kind gift to someone else this year -- a gift that makes a person feel taken off guard. This year, pay it forward. Paying it forward is one of the best ways to give a gift. This year, give a gift to a stranger.
Just the other day while I was sitting in the Starbucks drive-thru, I pulled up to the window, debit card in hand, and saw the Barista smiling. She told me that the car in front of me paid for my drink. Coffee is great, but free coffee is even better. So as I saw the car drive away, a slight feeling of guilt ran through my caffeine-free veins because I couldn’t ever thank that person. But as I sipped my holiday-flavored latte on my way to class, I thought about how that feeling of slight guilt could be taken away by paying the act forward for someone else. I sat in class taking pictures of my free coffee and posting the moment on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat: #FreeCoffee #PayItForward #Thankful #MyDayWasMade #Holidays.
Who says that gift giving has to stop at the people we know? We have all learned about stranger danger, but what is the danger in making someone’s day better? People tend to live in a comfortable little circle and hardly try to break out of that circle. But the funny thing about circles is that they don’t have a starting point or an ending point. We all have to start somewhere, so start today. Next time you’re in line at your favorite place, do something new, something uncomfortable, and pay for the person behind you. Not only will you feel better, but so will that particular individual. Plus, if that person feels like it, he or she may even pay it forward again, too. Let’s start a chain reaction to things that matter in the holidays, instead of focusing energy on issues that don’t matter.
While Starbucks got a lot of hype about their red cups not embodying the holidays and Christianity, we can instead use gift giving to embody the holidays this year. Many people enjoy being able to give and receive things that hold a story behind the wrapping paper and bows. The story behind holding free coffee on the way to work or school is something that will get other people thinking, too. By paying it forward, people allow themselves to feel good about making others feel good. So, endure this challenge with me during the month of December, or even make it a new year’s resolution, and next time you’re in line at a fast food place, or Starbucks -- or anywhere really -- remember the gift of giving and spread a little bit of happiness for the world to see.
