Hi Everyone! Lately, I have been trying to take a step back and evaluate how I’ve been living my life. I have found myself getting caught up in a cycle of constantly being on the go and running from thing to thing (an easy habit to fall into). What I’ve come to realize is that a majority of my time is spent planning for the future or setting future goals, instead of being completely present in what is happening now. Obviously, thinking ahead and preparing for that next step is important, but living in the present and appreciating what we have right now is just as significant. We need to start enjoying each and every moment and taking the time to reflect on our actions.
My goal is to start living a more intentional life; realizing that every day I get to choose my attitude, my decisions, my actions, etc. I want to take a step back from this crazy, busy, selfish lifestyle that we all live, and start putting others before myself.
One way I want to achieve this is by taking the time out of my day to do something nice for those around me. It can be so easy to give someone a compliment, hold open the door, offer to help someone in need, etc. yet so many times we don’t take the time out of our day to do these things. Sometimes it could be because we’re too wrapped up in our own world, to busy, or maybe because we don’t think the small act that we could do will make that much of a difference to society.
I am here to tell you: Small acts of kindness can make a big difference! I can’t tell you how many times I have been having a bad day and someone has told me, “I really appreciated all your help” or “I love the way your hair looks” and it has completely changed my mood. It makes me feel so happy inside that someone else took the time to compliment me or appreciate what I had done. It will only take you a few seconds to give out a compliment, and it could have a huge impact on someone!
I love the phrase, “it’s the little things that count,” because it is so true! Doing small favors for people- smiling at someone, recycling, changing your diet, bringing a reusable bag to the store with you, etc. All of these actions may seem small, but can yield big results. It’s hard to see the impact of these little changes, but they do happen, even if you don’t see it immediately!
When I was at Target the other day, I had the nicest cashier. She was an older woman who patiently answered my questions about the Cartwheel app and was so efficient ringing up my items. I told her that this was some of the best customer service that I had received, and said I would write a customer review about her. You should have seen her face light up, she was so happy. She told me that she would be recognized by her team and that it would mean a lot to her.
Seeing her instantly light up, made me feel so good inside. It made me realize that I could be more intentional about doing little acts of kindness for others more often.
So, I thought it would be fun to try out a “Random Acts of Kindness Challenge” for one week. At least once every day for one week I tried to do one small favor for someone and reflect on it at the end of the day.
This was such a great challenge to try and it made me realize how simple it can be to lift someone’s mood! Just doing one act of kindness can make all the difference.
I thought it would be great to share some of the small favors I did during the challenge, so here is a list of simple acts that you can do every day to make someone smile! Pick any 7 from this list and do one every day!
*Compliment someone! Tell someone at work you like their outfit, tell a stranger you love their shoes, etc.
*Bring a dessert into work for your coworkers
*If you had a really good experience at a store with an employee, leave a review about them! Maybe they will be awarded at work.
*Do all the dishes that are piling up in the sink for your roommate, mom, family, etc.
*Text a friend that you haven’t talked to in a while to ask how they are doing
*Ask someone at work or school to have lunch with you
*If someone helped you on a project, assignment, etc. tell them you really appreciate their help
*Offer to help someone carry their groceries to the car
*Make a card or give flowers to someone in the hospital (stranger or relative)
*Let another driver go in front of you when trying to get onto the main road
*Say I love you
*If you know someone is struggling with something, ask if you can help
*Pray for someone
*Say thank you to your bus driver or uber driver
*Smile at someone
*Offer to help make dinner (for your family, significant other, friend)
I encourage you to try this challenge as well! For one week, do one random act of kindness every day and journal or reflect on it at night. I guarantee, it will make you slow down and think about your actions. Hopefully you will feel encouraged to live life with more intention and to spread kindness every day 😊
Hope you enjoyed!
XO
Cassie
