Today I was thinking about the state of the nation, about the people that surround me and the vibe that fills the air, I was sitting on a tram with a bunch of Zombies who had no idea about the world that was going on around them and that made me kind of sad. The other day I wrote a post about things I wanted to achieve to make my life better and I am ashamed to realise that I had very little in there that in turn would make other peoples lives better as well, so I have decided to make a second list, a list of things I would like to do for other people. Here are some things that I am going to try to start doing to help to make someone else's life as good as I hope mine can be,
Give out a compliment - if you see someone with a nice scarf or tremendous eye brows that you envy, tell them!! Its always a great confidence boost when someone notices something that you are proud of. Just a warning heads up on this one though, I can guarantee if you see someone wearing something that you like they would have got it from England or the Moon or somewhere that is unobtainable... just to piss you off.
Leave a random surprise for a stranger - Have you just finished an amazing book you would like to share? Leave it with a note on a table in a food court. Fold a crane and write love note on its wings for the world. Have a few hours left on your parking ticket? Put it back in the machine for the next person to use. Let it be anonymous, things are better when no one knows that its you.
Give Positive Feedback - Most people focus only the bad aspects of service, change that. If you find someone has done an amazing job, speak to their manager, put it in writing. Its hard to do a good job sometimes so its nice to be recognised. Generally if someone says you are doing a good job, you keep doing a good job. Positive reinforcement and all that stuff.
Let someone else go first - that person behind you in the deli that only has one item, or the person standing at the bar next to you, let them be served first and give them a smile. Its nice to be put first once in a while. This probably also includes letting someone in, in traffic, I don't drive but if I did I would try to do this.
Get off the phone will being served - do you like it when people don't acknowledge you while you are doing something for them? Don't be that guy, yeah they are doing their job but they are people as well. I am still friends with a couple of guys that used to come and buy food off me when I was 17 (si we are talking 15 years), they took the time to talk to me and a friendship grew from that. Remember Strangers are just friends you haven't made yet.
Help the Elderly / People with kids - If you see an elderly person walking with their shopping, ask to carry it, a parent struggling with their pram, HELP THEM. Today a guy with a pram, a kid and a back pack was trying to struggle off his jumper, I grabbed the sleeve so he could pull his arm out and he thanked me. Undressing people on the tram is probably not something I thought I would do today but that 5 seconds of my life helped to make someone Else's day better.
Give up your seat - hopefully we all do this for elderly, the pregnant or the injured but have you thought about doing it for someone that has an armful of shopping and weary expression on their face? Especially living here in Inner City Melbourne where a lot of people don't have cars they rely heavily on public transport and that means carting all your groceries on the tram. If someone was to offer me a seat when I have my shopping I would be eternally grateful, so next time I see a me on the tram I am 100% going to give up my seat.
Hold the Door - This is something so simple, if you see someone coming behind you, be a gentleman and hold the door for them, if you see someone running for a lift, stick your foot in it to wait. You would want someone to do it for you.
Talk to an Elderly Person - take a moment to think about how you would feel if you didn't have much meaning to your life, no job, not many friends and the isolation of not being able to get out and about as easily as you can now. If that was your situation would you want people to take the effort to engage with you? Taking a moment out of your day to speak to these people will mean more to them than you will probably ever realise
Be Less Judgmental - You don't know the struggle that other people are going through so keep your nasty judgmental social commentary to yourself. I bet your mum told you when you were small "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?"I think that some where along the line we have forgotten this basic rule. I know I am very very guilty of it. So it stops, today. Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
Smile - Simple. That's it, there is no big secret to this one, you don't know what your smile could mean to someone.
I guess all it really comes down to is, don't be a jerk. Treat others how you would like to be treated As a thought, these things are free and will only a take a second but they have the potential to have a huge impact. Do you know what the best thing about taking these small steps will be? You will be filled with a nice warm squishy feeling on your insides and that's pretty cool. And just think, one good deed deserves another so the person that you made smile could go on to make someone else smile and we could have a smile epidemic on our hands. That's an infection that I am willing to sign up for. I think Michael Moore said it best "be a part of a we and not just a me", that's something we should all aspire too.
Love and Paying Forward
Miss K
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