Pay For A Stranger’s Meal & Tip At A Restaurant

I love this one. It may be my single favorite act of kindness to perform because for me, it’s instant gratification and it really feels, as Tony The Tiger used to say, “GRRRRRREEEAAAATTT!”

The first time I did it, I saw a son and his mother who reminded me of the meals my mom and I used to share. I called the waitress over and asked her to pass me the check, but not say a word to the people. I paid it, left her a very good tip and instructed her to tell them only that a friend bought lunch and to enjoy the day together. I stuck around that first time and the look on their face was priceless. They appeared like they won the lottery when they walked out, looking around the restaurant for familiar faces with smiles that were as bright as the sun.

Me? I knew I won a lottery that day. When you have one of those days that completely sucks and just need to reboot, try this one. I guarantee it will change your whole day for the better.

Pick Up A Piece Of Trash When You’re Walking Around

This is one of those simple inspiring acts that can lead to others doing the same thing, thus perpetuating the act for a very long time.  When I’m walking around being thoughtless, which is more often than I wish, I’ll think of the example my Mom set. My Mother used to always pick up trash as we walked around, which as a child I thought was kind of stupid. She didn’t toss it, but here she was picking it up. As I got older I realized what a small, but important act it was. My mother wasn’t going to change the world with grand actions, but here she was doing her own little thing to make her corner a little more beautiful for everyone.

Let An Extra Car in Your Lane

Much of the time we spend in a car is time we’re in a hurry. You know what its like when you’re waiting… waiting… waiting for an opening to get out into traffic, and while there are times that each person will let someone in, there are also the times when Jesus Christ himself is not getting in that lane. Take the moment and the thirty feet of extra road that’s required and let an extra car in your lane. Someone’s trying to get to an appointment, or school to take a test, or maybe they just need to put some miles behind them, but you letting them in is a simple way to put a smile on their face and maybe assist them in accomplishing something today.

Mentor A Young Person

The best way to learn and improve is to teach. Spending time explaining your craft or expertise will make you a better professional,
but more importantly will give you a connection with a young person searching for a vocation or a path. Sometimes mentoring youth
is about everything, but the career they want to pursue. It’s about how a professional lives their life. How does a leader in their profes-
sion lead? Do they lead by example, or how do they know when to follow others? Are they responsible, prepared, do they consider
the impact of their actions? Lessons like this may never directly show someone how to be a doctor, mechanic, store manager, or
whatever, but they can give basic lessons in good behavior, which translate to being a valuable and creative worker, no matter what
avenue they choose to pursue.

Do The Dishes and Put Them Away

I don’t mind doing the dishes in the grand scheme of things, but I hate starting the job. Once I’m wet though and up to my elbows in
detergent and water and I got a good scrubby sponge, I’m like a machine. However I have this mental block about drying them and
putting them away. I even have trouble mounting the ambition to take them out of the dishwasher and put them away. Think about
that one. The dishwasher did 99% of the work, and I don’t feel like putting them away… Completing the job and putting them away
so my partner doesn’t have to, is one of those little things that she loves. It’s torture for me to do it, but it’s really appreciated by her
and more importantly, it’s not that hard. I mean it is, but it’s not like I had to walk five miles with buckets of water on my head to do the
job. I just had to break the same mental block I’m sure a few others have to do.

Practice Meditation

“Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote those words over a hundred years ago, yet
still they ring true. You got five minutes? Really, I only need you for 30 seconds. Yeah right. We are all busy, busy, busy. It’s part of liv-
ing the western lifestyle, but is it doing us any good? Sometimes it feels like the sun rises and sets on running fifteen minutes late, but
could you actually name what you what you have accomplished on those days? Try to incorporate five to ten minutes of silence in a
quiet place, which means no music, TV, or reading material in front of you, just silence where you can start to meditate and concen-
trate on your breathing. In and out, in and out and keep it simple.  You will start to notice in short order that the mere practice of
being present will help to lower your stress, and help your thought processes become clearer.

Practice Forgiveness

Practice makes perfect. Practice, practice, practice, but forgiveness is hard. There’s no doubt about it, but to be kind and live in kindness, you must practice and become good at forgiveness.  Kindness is recognizing the humanity in those people you meet everyday, in all walks of life and you have to start with the person closest to you in the entire world, yourself. And this is where the practice part comes in. You need to see it in yourself, or you won’t recognize it in other people. Learn the value of letting go, accepting that you’ve made mistakes, or done some nasty things, and that may be who you were, but its not who you are now, nor is it who you wish to become. Let’s assume you’ve learned how to forgive yourself, now it gets easier. Because once you’ve forgiven the person you’re closest to, (yourself) it gets progressively easier to forgive those around you in your life and forgiveness means letting go of anger, fear, hurt… all the dark emotions which weaken your soul from the inside and keep you
from expanding your spirit to its full potential by robbing you of time spent on more worthwhile endeavors. Think of how much time you’ll return to yourself, and practicing forgiveness becomes easier still. It will help you become a better partner, co-worker…Human Being.