Random acts of kindness matter — doing something unexpected for someone can not only completely change their day, but has the potential to make you feel happy, too.
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You never know what kind of day those around you are having, and you never know how much doing something small for them — even just giving a compliment! — can completely change how they’re feeling.
Today, challenge yourself to do one of these small, random acts of kindness. By spreading positivity to others, you’ll have a better day too — and you never know, they might pass it on to someone else.
1. Buy coffee for the person in line behind you
This works for any line you might wait in throughout your day. Take care of the bill of the person in line behind you, wherever it may be — it’s an easy way to surprise someone and make their day.
2. Send a friend a nice text
When we’re close with someone, sometimes we forget to let them know how much we appreciate them. Let someone you’re closest with know how well they’re doing and how much you appreciate having them in your life.
3. Leave a nice note on a coworker’s desk
This is something we do all the time at The Everygirl office, and it never fails to make our day. Writing something short and sweet like “You’re amazing at what you do, I love working with you!” can start someone’s day off on the right foot.
Source: Money Can Buy Lipstick
4. Venmo a friend $5 for coffee with an inspirational message
Surprise a friend by buying their daily caffeine fix with a sweet note. This is the perfect thing to do on a stressful day for a friend, like the morning of an interview or the first day of a new job.
5. Mail someone you love a card
Receiving a piece of mail besides a bill is rare, so sending a random, nice card is both an unexpected and thoughtful way to let someone know you’re really thinking of them.
6. Leave a snack for your mailman
Your mailman is someone who works hard every day with it often going unnoticed. Leave them a snack and a note thanking them for all they do.
7. Drop a heads-up penny on the ground for someone who believes in good luck to find
Whether or not you’re superstitious, many people are, and finding a heads-up penny on the ground could make someone look at their day through a more optimistic lens. Drop one on the ground to give someone a little bit of luck.
Source: @hayet.rida
8. Give a compliment
See someone wearing shoes you love? Tell them! You never know how far a little bit of positivity can go.
In our office, we always joke that a really good compliment can keep us going for weeks — give someone one of those.
9. Call a family member
I know, getting on the phone with your grandma or super chatty aunt can turn into a three-hour ordeal, and it’s always something that gets pushed to the bottom of our to-do lists — sometimes to the point that it doesn’t happen. Call a family member that you know would love to hear your voice, whether it be your mom, grandma, aunt, or a sibling.
10. Do one of your roommate’s chores
If you have a roommate, do something for them that you know they don’t want to do themselves. Instead of taking their laundry out of the dryer and putting it in their laundry basket, fold it for them; or instead of tip-toeing around their dirty dishes that they were planning on doing later, clean them for them.
11. Bring a treat to work
Who doesn’t love walking into an office with surprise donuts or cookies? At The Everygirl office we might do this a little too often, but it’s an easy way to make everyone in your office smile.
12. Text someone good morning
Waking up to a good morning text from a friend can immediately put someone in a great mood to start the day. Something as simple as “Good morning! I hope you have a great day!” is enough to go into the day with a positive mindset.
Source: Rebecca Laurey
13. Say yes when a cashier asks you to donate to a cause
At a lot of store checkouts, the cashier will ask if you want to donate (or round up your total to the nearest dollar) to a cause. It’s an easy thing to skip out on, but next time, do it! Even if it’s just $1, it can help do good.
14. Make concrete plans with someone you haven’t seen in a while
We all have that friend that you constantly make plans with, only to have the plans constantly fall through (“Let’s hang out this Saturday, I promise!”). It’s easy to fall into a pattern of never seeing each other, but find out a way to work them into your schedule so you actually see them.
15. Hold the door open for someone
It doesn’t get easier than this. Hold the door for the person behind you wherever you go throughout the day. *Queue the awkward half-walk-half-jog that happens every time someone ahead of you waits to hold the door for you*
16. Let someone merge in front of you in traffic
Getting cut off while driving can be infuriating, especially in the morning on a rough commute. Cut someone some slack, and be grateful you aren’t in as big of a rush as they are. Let someone who’s trying to merge in front of you go — it’ll give you good driving karma.
Source: @misszias
17. Give a good tip
Instead of 18 or 20 percent, give someone who serves you a bigger tip than necessary — servers often go under-tipped, so this could make a huge difference in their day.
18. Park in a far parking spot
We all want the parking spot closest to the door, but if you’re having a good day, park in the furthest one. If it helps someone who’s having a bad day even a little bit, it’s worth it.
19. Leave a nice note in a library book
The next time you take out a library book, leave a nice sticky note on the inside for the next person who checks it out to find — once this happened to me, and it totally changed my day, and reminded me how much good there is in the world.
20. Be kind to yourself
While you can do kind things for others all day, you won’t feel good unless you do kind things for yourself. Forgive yourself for a past mistake you made, cut off negative self-talk, and remind yourself that you’re amazing and doing the best you can.