Motivational Monday | Pay It Forward

I’ve experienced a case of writers block today, when I have so many ideas in mind, it can be difficult to focus on just one and attempt to shape that into coherent sentences. Coincidentally, I’ve also become my own worst critic, which is proven by the fact that I have another Motivational Monday post written and saved in my drafts that I couldn’t publish because, for one reason or another, I wasn’t completely satisfied with it.

With that in mind, I decided to strip everything back to basics and think about a motivational topic that could apply to everyone and have a positive impact and that’s how today’s theme of “Pay It Forward” was born. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it is defined as:

To respond to a person’s kindness to oneself by being kind to someone else.

The concept is simple, as outlined above, to be kind to others. It doesn’t need to be the same person that was kind to you but rather someone else entirely, so that it creates a ripple effect. If every person did one small thing, we would have a very different world, it’s time to spread some smiles!

As an example, I recently read of a heart-warming act of kindness that happened in my hometown, a woman who was partaking in this years Race For Life event in aid of Cancer Research had forgotten her purse to pay for her parking ticket and a good Samaritan spotted the note and decided to purchase a ticket for her, so she didn’t receive a penalty. This proves that it doesn’t need to be anything monumental to have a great impact on someone’s day. To get you started, I thought that I would share 10 of Oprah Winfrey’s suggested small acts of kindness:

1. Say “Good morning” to a person standing next to you in the elevator.
2. Offer to pick up groceries for an elderly neighbor, especially in extreme weather.
3. Say “I love you” to someone you love.
4. Each time you get a new item of clothing, give away something old.
5. Bring your assistant coffee.
6. Out of the blue, send flowers to a friend.
7. When you’re on a crowded train or bus, offer your seat to an elderly, disabled or pregnant person.
8. Ask someone “How are you really doing?”—and then really listen to their response.
9. Offer change when the person in front of you at the register comes up short.
10. Pass along a great book you’ve just finished reading.

Be the reason that someone smiles today, what are you going to do to start your ripple?

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