RANDOM ACTS FOR INDIVIDUALS
Helping individuals is what most people think of when they talk about Random Acts of Kindness. They are easy to do and take very little preparation and are infinitely adaptable to whatever situation you may find. To us, they are like planting little gems for people to discover and the smiles they generate are so amazing. Here we list just a few ideas to help start your own creativity.
Spontaneous Acts
The Gift of Food
A popular act of kindness is giving the gift of food. This is a great way to help the homeless as well as others throughout your day. Next time you are in a popular store, pick up a few gift cards to have in your pocket. One friend keeps a stack of Subway gift cards in her purse to give to the homeless. Guarantees them a healthy meal. Another way to get a great smile is to give Starbucks or other popular coffee shop's gift cards to police, firefighters and ambulance drivers. Taxi drivers love them too! It's fun to walk up to a taxi stand and just hand the driver a card and say "Have a Great Day" them walk off. Anyone who works long hours and odd shift will be very appreciative.
A Surprise Meal
Carrying the food theme forward (and a personal favorite of Dave's) is to anonymously pay for someone's meal at a restaurant. Waiters love to be a part of this act of kindness because it doesn't cost them a penny and they get to be the actual giver of the gift. It works like this:
The next time you are eating out, look around the restaurant until you see a table that looks like they are already eating their meal. When you go to pay for your bill, let the server know you are wanting to pay for the other table anonymously. Simply tell them to let the table know "Someone was wanting to Pay It Forward and has covered their tab." You can walk out knowing that you just made the night special for a number of people.
Note: Be sure you tip for both bills!
As You Move Throughout the Day...
These are simple actions that you can take at a moment's notice and require no planning whatsoever.
-
Holding a door
-
Returning a grocery cart as you walk past someone loading their car
-
Letting someone with fewer items go ahead of you
-
Giving up your seat on the train
-
Sharing your umbrella at the bus stop
-
Offering your magazine to someone else in a waiting room
-
Assisting someone who needs some extra help up the stairs
-
Offering directions when you recognize someone is lost at the airport
-
Sharing your table at a busy restaurant (a great way to make new friends)
The Super Tip
Restaurant staff are a hard working bunch and in the restaurant industry compliments are far and few between. Especially around the holidays. One favorite that was shared by Bill in Minneapolis is to go out to eat on the holiday. He finds a place where the staff is working on Thanksgiving or Christmas or New Years and surprises them with an extremely generous tip. These are high end restaurants but rather the places hard working individuals are usually just grinding out a living. When he goes to pay, he slips in an extra $50 with "Merry Christmas" written on it and leaves it on the table for them to find. He calls it Stealth Kindness!
Planned Acts
Planned acts are sometimes easier for people to do as they allow you a little more time to ensure you have what you need. It also allows you to select the specific bit of kindness for a specific person making it just that much more personal. Everyone has their little favorite things that bring joy in life. A favorite treat, a favorite spot, a preferred way of doing things. Paying attention to the people in your life to note these preferences give you all sorts of opportunities to brighten their day.
Flowers
Flowers can make anyone feel special. Even guys appreciate them (though they may pretend to be too tough for them). Here's a couple ideas of how to bring the life of flowers to people you meet.
-
Buy a dozen roses and hand them out to strangers as you walk to work on Valentine's day
-
Buy a tiny potted plant and leave it on a friend's desk with a thank you note for their hard work
-
Wrap a message "You are wonderful!" around the stem of a flower and hand it out to someone you meet as you go through your day.
-
Give a flower to the toll booth worker on your next road trip.
Hidden Notes
The simple message of hearing you are special, appreciated or loved can do wonders for your soul. It only take seconds to write out a note and stick in on a coworker's desk or in a family member's book bag. Get yourself a pad of brightly colored sticky notes or small cards and randomly leave notes for your friends.
To receive a surprise "I Love You" or "Thank You For The Help" can turn even the worst day into a good one.
Just Show Up
Throughout our lives we will often hear of someone looking for a little extra help with a project. Maybe they are seeming a little overwhelmed but they are too shy to ask for help. If you have the time, offer to help and just show up. You don't have to stay for the full time if your schedule is full but they will greatly appreciate that you made the effort. Even if you don't know anything about how to do the specific task you'll be able to find a way to be helpful.
Make the Birthday Call!
Everyone loves to feel special on their birthday and in this age of social media it's easy to post a Happy Birthday message to their Facebook or Instagram profile but if you Really want to give the gift of kindness, call them up and sing them "Happy Birthday" You don't have to be a good singer (in fact, a hearty out of key effort is often more fun!). Dial their number and the minute they answer, start singing. It's even more fun if they are a long lost friend whom you haven't talked to in a while. A great way to reopen a friendship and make someone smile a big smile on their special day.
Buttons and Business Cards
This one takes a little more preparation but gives you the ability to be ready for spontaneous acts of kindness. Order up a stack of business cards that simply say "You Are Amazing!" and carry them in your pockets. Randomly hand them out to friends and strangers as you go about your day. What's nice is they can choose to pass the message along to another person.
We know someone who as done this with buttons. They ordered up a batch that said "You Are Wonderful" and gave them out. The recipient can then wear it and everyone that reads it gets the same great affirmation.
Share How You Do More Good Always!
As we've said before, there are many many great ideas out there. Sharing yours with others can be inspiring to them and the amount of kindness spread will multiply many times over.