It’s time to do something for someone else

There’s plenty of content out there telling you how to make your life better. How to make your bank account grow, your sex life more dynamic, your home more beautiful. There’s content telling you that the secret to mental wellness is This $180 Day Spa Now Only $99! It can be overwhelming, and often hard to decipher whether someone is trying to sell you something or genuinely bring value to your life. 

1. Compliment a stranger   Context is everything here, so don’t go ‘round creeping on people who might be uncomfortable by remarks that sound disingenuous. Be specific. Telling a stranger you like their shirt, or a mother that she’s doing great with the kids, or that the reverse-parralel-parker they’ve nailed it can bring a lot of joy.

 

2. Give your timed parking ticket to the next person Pay for four hours of parking but leave after 2? Drop your parking ticket back into the parking ticket box for the next person. Most of the time you’ll find someone there, trying to fumble for their bank card. Hand it directly to them with a smile.

 

3. Mow your neighbour’s lawn   With permission, of course. But if you’ve gone to the hassle of hauling your mower out and getting your edges all clean and tidy, offer the same to your neighbour. We always lament that ‘communities aren’t what they used to be’ or that we ‘don’t even know the name of the bloke who lives next door!’. Well, it all starts with the first step. Let it be yours.

 

4. Pay it forward   Morning coffee? Grab one for the person behind you. They don’t have to know it was you. Just walk away with that mischievous look on your face knowing you’re about to make a stranger’s day.

 

5. Say hello to EVERYONE Going for a walk? Be the person that says ‘good morning’ or ‘good afternoon’ or ‘hello’. It’s so nice when people do this, even if they catch you off guard and you muffle your response. Happiness is contagious.

 

6. Write a thank you card Whoever maintains the garden of my local Lebanese restaurant is incredible. No matter the time of year the place is abundant with flowers. Every day I walk past I think, ‘heck, that’s freaking beautiful and this gardener has no idea how much joy their work brings me every time’. That gardener deserves a thank you. Write the thank you card. (I’ve also done this for a house with an amazing homemade letterbox. I always thought, that is COOL, and you know what? They deserved to know). The card is even better if the kids colour it in (or you!). No need to buy one.