One Good Thing Can Lead To Another

Happy New Year Everyone!

January 1st is always such an interesting day.  We all have fresh calendars, fresh starts, we’re ready to take on the year, all of us starting with a clean slate.  Likely many of you will have made some new year resolutions.  It’s generally a time when we are thinking of ourselves, looking within at what we want to do better this year, what changes we want to make in our lives.  We’re thinking of new goals and new projects to take on.

While all of that is positive and wonderful I was thinking that it might also be a good idea to put some emphasis on paying it forward. During the holidays I’m sure you were hit up by every charity known to man to give a donation. If you did that, that’s great. But what I’m talking about are just random acts of kindness to complete strangers or people you know.  Especially in LA, people here are moving fast, honking horns, always in a hurry. By paying it forward, and doing something unexpected for a stranger you might just slow them down a little bit and help them to remember the good in people and themselves.

Next time you’re in a coffee line or a drive thru, pay for the next person in line. Give a stranger a compliment.  Bake cookies for a neighbor or for the local stores you frequent.  Babysit for free for a friend. Buy a few scratchers and pass them out to people on the street. Take coloring books and crayons to the children’s hospital  There are so many things that you can do.  Be creative and if you have kids get them involved, they’ll likely have some really great ideas themselves.

I’m not gonna lie, people in big cities will be skeptical at first but once the kindness of the gesture sinks in it’s really great to see the joy and surprise cross their faces. Trust me they will think about this gesture and the next time they are in a situation where they can be kind I bet they will.

It’s such a good time of year to start off on the right foot and remind people that there are really good people out there.