Imagine you are walking down the street and you see a random person drop everything in their bag. You have two options: help them, or walk by and hope the next person will help. Most people will choose the later due to the psychology principle of the Bystander Effect. The Bystander Effect is the tendency for one to not act when something goes wrong if they are in a group because they believe someone around them will do the action needed.
Although the latter isn't the right decision, it is the common one -- but that shouldn't be the case. Today's generation is known for being snobby and helpless, however, we need to learn the importance of doing random acts of kindness. No act of kindness is too small. Every act of kindness can have a powerful ripple effect on others. Whether you believe it or not, if you do something nice for a stranger one day, someone will probably do something nice for you. Doing a random act of kindness is so simple; yet, many people decide to choose the easy way out. It is much easier to just walk by that random person who just dropped everything than to help them. But you never know how those five minutes helping that random person benefited them. And chances are, your random act of kindness will benefit you as well.
Let's go back to that original situation but with more information. What if I told you that that random person was having the worst day of their lives. Maybe they just lost their job, or a relative, or are running late for work or an appointment. Would you help them now?
Maybe, some people would stop and help them pick everything up, but most people would still just walk right by. Again, the latter is not the right thing to do, but it is the common decision. Although, yes, it is a good thing that more people probably have a higher chance of stopping once you know that that person had such a bad day, it shouldn't matter what kind of day one is having. We should be helping people regardless of whether they are having the best day and just make it better by helping them or if they are having the worst day and making it better by helping them. Either way you are benefiting the other person for no other reason than just being a kind person.
I challenge you. Go out today and do one random act of kindness for a complete stranger. It doesn't have to be something huge, it could be as simple as saying hi to a random person or holding the door for a struggling parent carrying their kids and the groceries. Just one small act of kindness can make their day ten times better and you will feel so much better about yourself than if you just walk right by.
