Spring will not come, prices are rising, vacation is not soon, children do not obey. There are always enough reasons for a bad mood. How about instead of another sad sighs and regrets, do something good without really straining? You will catch two birds with one stone: you will make not only the world around you a little better, but also your own life.
Most people think selfishly, this is normal. We must take care of our own well-being in order to survive. But by making the world a better place, we make our lives better.
1. It makes you happier and healthier. Even small acts of kindness trigger neurochemical reactions in the brain that improve emotional and physical well-being: pain decreases, depression and stress levels decrease, and blood pressure normalizes.
2. Kindness is a natural human instinct. It helps to appreciate affection, love and friendship more. Kindness and compassion affect the survival of the species. One kind word can change a life. Especially if your good deed is the only good thing that happened to a person in a day, or a week, or a month.
3. Goodness is “contagious.” Seeing how a person performs a selfless act, we are very likely to want to do something similar. It seems to start a chain of positive changes and at the same time proves that kindness and compassion can be taught not by words, but by one’s own example.
4. Kindness reduces anxiety, depression and anxiety. If you feel sad, bad and lonely, try to go out (or even just go online) and do something nice for someone. This is a great alternative to soul-searching and sad reflections. And this will help you get a little distracted, so that later you can look at your problems from the other side.
5. Selfless actions balance negative events. Sometimes bad things happen and we can’t prevent them. But we can restore the balance by making the world a little better ourselves. And for this you do not need to be a world leader and save the planet from global warming. You need to open your heart and believe that even a small good deed can change someone’s life for the better.
6. Doing good deeds is nice (and right). Often we don’t know how kind words or little help have affected the lives of others. But just as often, we hear the stories of people for whom someone’s participation was the most important event that changed everything. It is quite possible that one of these people is the same sad stranger to whom you once added 10 rubles for a subway ticket, or a mother who was helped to lift a stroller up the stairs.
Are you ready to do something good? Here are 33 actions that will change the world for the better:
1. Be kind to strangers. Hold the door for the one who follows you. Smile at your neighbor who walks his dog in the yard. It won’t cost you anything, but you will start a chain of positivity.
2. Offer whatever help you can. Bring groceries to a sick friend, fix a colleague’s closet door, clean up the stairwell.
3. Show attention to your loved one. Listen, if a partner or friend has something, help take the cat to the vet, bake a pie. Such care is often valued much more than expensive gifts or flowers.
4. Take care of the environment. Yes, your kindness does not have to be directed towards people. Pick up the empty can that someone threw past the trash can. Plant a tree or flowers in a shared yard. Even such simple things make the world a better and more beautiful place.
5. Pay for someone’s lunch. You stand in line at a fast food restaurant and wait for your order to be ready. If you do not feel sorry for a small amount of money, quietly pay for the order of the one who is behind you, he may never know that it was you, but he will be happy for a long time and tell everyone he knows about it. And maybe one of them will do the same someday.
6. Give a compliment. Never miss a chance to say something nice even to strangers. Compliment the barista’s hair color at a coffee shop, tell a colleague how she looks with a new makeover, marvel at the way someone’s child draws.
7. Write kind notes. “I love you” takes on a special charm if we read it in a note stuck to the bathroom mirror, or find it in our bag when we arrive at work or unpack our suitcase on a business trip.
8. Say “thank you”. Thank someone who once, even many years ago, made your life better. It could be a classmate, a parent, a colleague, a psychologist, or even a former partner. Tell us how their support has helped you.
9. Become a volunteer. You can help disinterestedly in any area, from working with orphanages and hospitals to helping organize sports events. This does not have to be done all the time, even one-time help will make a difference.
10. Donate money. A small amount given to charity will help a good cause.
11. Take on some of someone else’s responsibilities. This may be a one-time assistance. A friend is tired, but he needs to go pick up something? Do it for him. Gratitude will not be the limit.
12. Cook your favorite meal for a friend. This will lift his spirits.
13. Reminisce. Have you experienced something wonderful together? Think about it together. Look at old photos, discuss funny details. You can try to repeat that experience.
14. Help the elderly. Nursing home trips, letters of encouragement, and lovingly collected and wrapped gifts are of the utmost importance to single older people living without a family.
15. Offer physical help. What can you do? Paint the walls, re-paste the wallpaper, assemble the furniture, move the closet. This can make someone’s life much easier and at the same time will be a great joint pastime.
16. Teach someone. Are you good at doing something that some other people can’t? Knitting, sewing, riding a bike, cooking delicious cookies according to an old recipe? Teach this to someone who wanted to learn these skills.
17. Make someone’s day more fun. Invite a friend or colleague to participate in something interesting, whether it’s ice skating, a quest or a game of cards.
18. Expand your horizons. Offer to go to an exhibition, a concert, a museum, or a play together.
19. Give a certificate in the salon. Spa, massage, manicure, whatever.
20. Help a friend with a pet. He has no one to leave the animal with? Offer to walk the dog or feed the cat.
21. Have lunch or dinner. Invite a friend over and feed you delicious, lovingly prepared meals. A friendly conversation will be a great addition.
22. Sit with other people’s children. Your friend hasn’t left the house without a pram for six months, or hasn’t she gone to the store alone? Offer to babysit her children one evening.
23. Go on an afternoon date. Do you have a partner? Invite him for coffee or ice cream in the park. These half an hour will cheer you up.
24. Share things. Lend a friend a dress or jewelry, give a friend a suitcase for a vacation, offer a friend the book you’ve finished reading.
25. Support those who feel bad. Prayer, meditation, a candle placed in a church, or kind thoughts and words can change something for the better.
26. Give away unwanted items. There are clothes hanging in the closet that you don’t wear, books on the shelves that you won’t reread, and an old laptop that you have long since replaced with two new ones is gathering dust on the windowsill. Give them to people who really need them but can’t afford them. For them, this will be a blessing, and you will get rid of the excess.
27. Make a donation for another person. Choose a charity project with a friend and make a donation on their behalf.
28. Take on your partner’s daily chores. At least for one day. Cooking, laundry, ironing, reading with the kids, walking the dog, cleaning, grocery shopping… Do it yourself, without asking for help from a partner. You will make his day much better, and at the same time you will be able to appreciate in a new way everything that he does for you every day.
29. Be kind to yourself. Don’t forget that you are human too. Set aside time for your favorite activities, whether it’s reading or playing sports. Do not overload yourself with helping others – do as much as you can, and leave strength for yourself. Otherwise, selfless help will very quickly turn into a burden.
30. Learn to refuse. Sometimes the best help to another person is the word “no”. It can be helpful for some to understand that you can’t always rush to save them or do something for them. They will learn to rely on themselves, and you will be able to relax and recuperate and help later, when there is a desire and opportunity.
31. Forgive yourself. If you often reproach yourself for not helping someone, or not helping enough, think about how many good deeds you have done. You cannot and should not save everyone. No longer blaming yourself, you will take great pleasure in caring for others, not out of a sense of duty, but because you have such a desire.
32. Allow yourself negative emotions. We are used to thinking that being angry and offended is bad. But we have every right to negative emotions. By allowing them to yourself, you will experience relief and these feelings will leave you much faster. This will also make the world a better place.
33. Do good deeds every day. The more good you bring into the world, the better it will become and the more good and happiness will be in your own life – and in the lives of your loved ones. Start a positive chain.
About the Developer
Jane Bluestein – leader of trainings on relationships and self-development. Her .