Kind things to find time to do

Anyone who is in the charitable sector, or interested by the sector finds time to do good. This is why I liked the following articles:
1. 100 easy ways to brighten someone's day
2. 109 random acts of kindness you can start doing-today
3. Why generosity is key to everything

There are so many things you can do to brighten someone's day, but some are just common sense and good manners, such as send thank you letters, deliver print outs to coworkers (if getting something from the printer anyway) and holding the door open. However some are nice gestures that can make someone feel better. For example buying a drink for a coworker; I remember working in one job where a guy who almost daily buy one friend a smoothie and expect nothing in return. Another good idea is buy for someone; I had someone say as a new mother she went to a photobooth and the manager paid for the pictures. Kindness from a complete stranger is even more heartwarming. At the same time I disagree with some such as let someone cut the queue. What is the point in that? When it is busy that makes nobody happy!  It also promotes impolite behaviour.

 The next article makes you realise how many nice things you could be doing. It details kind things to do such as: partaking in a beach cleanup, helping the elderly in different ways, volunteering, giving blood, adopt from an animal shelter, directing lost tourist, mentoring or helping people with bags/luggage. It suggests things you would never consider too such as emailing your boss or lecturer to say how much you like learning from them, giving an umbrella to a homeless person when it rains, listening to a friend vent or organising a holiday for your parents. One of my favourites has to be smile; I believe it can make anyone seem more approachable and cheer anyone up. I have always been taught  to smile when I am down and smile when I am nervous or stressed, or even to make a better impression (e.g. to encourage an interviewer I am approachable and friendly when applying for a job). Another favourite is to be kind to someone you dislike; I believe people are often disliked for good reason and a decision to not warm to a particular character is not taken lightly. Just because someone else is rude, does not mean you should stupe to their level. Being nice is the perfect revenge to someone who is truly mean.

True generosity is when you expect nothing in return, but unfortunately I believe it is rare to find a tuly selfless act of kindness. Even the nicest of people do things to make themselves happier. They may volunteer in a third world country to see the positive effect of their effort as well as helping to reduce world poverty. However, there can only be positivity in being generous as research shows in link 3. For example, it is said that happier people are better employees as they tend to work harder and be much more productive. By brightening people's days, it can be seen to benefit your career!

I hope this inspires you to do some good, and if it does, I encourage you to visit: http://getinvolved.org.uk/ or you can google for similar sites.