7 Ways You Can Pay It Forward
Hey there, my gorgeous readers! Hope you are adjusting to this September weather better than I am!
Have you ever seen the movie Pay It Forward? You know, that one with Haley Joel Osment as a kid. They made us watch it in middle school. Wow, that movie has always really stayed with me! FUN FACT: Did you ever realize that Jon Bon Jovi played the deadbeat father? I seriously just found that out! Crazy, right? Anyways! That movie was so incredibly touching! In a nutshell, this super young, yet genius kid comes up with a plan to make the world a better place. Basically, you do a nice thing for three different people, and they each pay it forward to three more people, and so on and so forth. I do think about this movie sometimes, but even more so in the past few weeks. Two things have happened to me that lead to this post. What are these things, you ask? Well, it’s your lucky day, because you get the stories firsthand from yours truly!
*STORY #1*
A little over a month ago, I went to get a haircut downtown. My hairdresser changed location, so this was a new area for me. Walking around, we couldn’t figure out where the ramp / elevator was. Seeing only a huge staircase staring back at us was slightly disconcerting. Oh well, we thought, and Gen prepared herself for an upward hike with Chandler in her arms. Then, all of a sudden a man came down the stairs and happily offered to show us where the elevator was and almost bent over backwards to help us carry Chandler up the few steps before it. WOW! I know this may not seem like a huge deal, but for us, it seriously made our day. Why can’t more people be this kind?
*STORY #2*
Just a few days ago, I was spending time with some friends at Walmart. When we were passing through the pharmacy section, I of course started having one of my cough-moments, as I like to call them. In other words, it’s when I suddenly start coughing like crazy, as if I’m about to hack up a lung or two. Don’t worry, it looks and sounds a lot worse than it is. In reality, it’s just a tickle. As this production was happening, the pharmacist asked if I was alright and if I needed some water. Even though I politely declined the offer, she quickly poured some water into a very tall bright yellow pill bottle and handed it to us. So so sweet! She literally put together whatever she could and tried so hard to be of help… it was really very touching! We need more people like her!
So, I guess two people have “paid it forward” to me… does that mean I should find six people to pass it on to?
Here are some ways it can be done!
7 Ways YOU Can Pay It Forward!
Compliment – You know what they say, one little thing for you can mean a whole lot to someone else. Even just complimenting someone’s outfit could make their day!
Change – Another way to change the world is to put your change to good use. Let me explain… all those extra coins weighing down your bag? Give it to someone on the street, or to someone ahead of you in line who needs some help paying for their coffee.
Review – My mom is a big believer in this one. People are sometimes so quick to complain or leave a bad review for a company, service, etc. What if we did the opposite? A few days ago, my mom asked to speak with the manager at East Side Mario’s because our waitress was so great. We saw her face drop when we asked for the manager, and then we saw it light up again when we reassured her it was for a positive thing… very cute experience! I think we made her day!
Give – This is something I’ve been working towards. After some heavy-duty de-cluttering, we now have a few boxes of odds and ends that we don’t need anymore. Me thinks that donating these things might actually be a nice way to pay it forward.
Stand-up – I’ve been watching a lot of What Would You Do? lately. You know, those social experiments testing to see how people react in an awful situation? Often, standing up for someone can go a long way… unless it’s dangerous! Then, please get someone else involved!
Leave behind – Do you have something extra lying around, like an umbrella? Leave it behind somewhere for someone who might need it. How great would that be?! Finding a random umbrella at your coffee shop that one day when you forgot to bring yours and it’s pouring rain outside?
Reach out – Remember that awesome teacher you had in 9th grade? Why not try to find them online and send a quick (or slow) email thanking them for making a difference in your life. I’ve done it, and it felt great!
What are your thoughts on the idea? Go ahead and answer in the comments! I would also love to hear about your “paying it forward” experiences! Have you seen the movie I talked about?