Page 46 - Inspire Health November/December 2015
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adventure
RANDOM ACTS OF
KindnessA 30‑Day Challenge
By Michele Robert Poche
It seemed easy enough. Do something nice for someone 1. Volunteer to visit with lonely patients at a nursing home.
else, stranger or otherwise, for 30 days straight. Nothing 2. Remove trash from a park or sidewalk.
I did was that difficult, and everything I did was rewarding. 3. Buy a lottery ticket for a stranger.
The hardest part was simply remembering to perform an act 4. Organize a teddy bear drive for needy children.
of kindness every day. It’s easy to get caught up in our lives, to 5. Compliment a stranger.
absent‑mindedly walk through public places, to buzz hurriedly 6. Send a care package to a deployed member of the military.
past someone who may be struggling or hurting. To make 7. Buy coffee or a treat for the person in line behind you.
random kindness a habit – that was the challenge. 8. Put coins in someone else’s parking meter.
The secret to success is to make this promise to yourself: 9. Buy a coworker a small gift anonymously.
I will, for 30 days, take a moment out of my schedule to put 10. Give a generous tip to the wait staff or delivery person.
someone else’s needs ahead of mine, with absolutely nothing 11. Give up your seat to someone on the bus or subway.
expected in return. 12. Bring in a neighbor’s trash cans.
13. Let a mom and crying baby go in front of you at the grocery store.
For as Aesop once said, 14. Let someone else have the good parking spot.
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” 15. Give a ride to a neighbor.
16. Buy a restaurant gift card for a homeless person.
46 INSPIRE HEALTH November § December 2015 17. Shovel and salt your neighbor’s sidewalk.
18. Leave a good book or magazine on a bus or in a waiting room.
19. Speak with three people you see every day, but have never met.
20. Donate blood.
21. Compliment a stranger on her children.
22. Stop to purchase what a child is selling.
23. Help a stranger with a task, like changing a tire or carrying groceries.
24. Cook a meal for someone going through a difficult time.
25. Compliment a coworker to their boss.
26. Send a thank‑you letter to a teacher who inspired you.
27. Volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
28. Put sticky notes with positive slogans on the mirrors in restrooms.
29. Volunteer to read to kids at an after‑school program.
30. Let someone merge in front of you during the rush‑hour commute.
RANDOM ACTS OF
KindnessA 30‑Day Challenge
By Michele Robert Poche
It seemed easy enough. Do something nice for someone 1. Volunteer to visit with lonely patients at a nursing home.
else, stranger or otherwise, for 30 days straight. Nothing 2. Remove trash from a park or sidewalk.
I did was that difficult, and everything I did was rewarding. 3. Buy a lottery ticket for a stranger.
The hardest part was simply remembering to perform an act 4. Organize a teddy bear drive for needy children.
of kindness every day. It’s easy to get caught up in our lives, to 5. Compliment a stranger.
absent‑mindedly walk through public places, to buzz hurriedly 6. Send a care package to a deployed member of the military.
past someone who may be struggling or hurting. To make 7. Buy coffee or a treat for the person in line behind you.
random kindness a habit – that was the challenge. 8. Put coins in someone else’s parking meter.
The secret to success is to make this promise to yourself: 9. Buy a coworker a small gift anonymously.
I will, for 30 days, take a moment out of my schedule to put 10. Give a generous tip to the wait staff or delivery person.
someone else’s needs ahead of mine, with absolutely nothing 11. Give up your seat to someone on the bus or subway.
expected in return. 12. Bring in a neighbor’s trash cans.
13. Let a mom and crying baby go in front of you at the grocery store.
For as Aesop once said, 14. Let someone else have the good parking spot.
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” 15. Give a ride to a neighbor.
16. Buy a restaurant gift card for a homeless person.
46 INSPIRE HEALTH November § December 2015 17. Shovel and salt your neighbor’s sidewalk.
18. Leave a good book or magazine on a bus or in a waiting room.
19. Speak with three people you see every day, but have never met.
20. Donate blood.
21. Compliment a stranger on her children.
22. Stop to purchase what a child is selling.
23. Help a stranger with a task, like changing a tire or carrying groceries.
24. Cook a meal for someone going through a difficult time.
25. Compliment a coworker to their boss.
26. Send a thank‑you letter to a teacher who inspired you.
27. Volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
28. Put sticky notes with positive slogans on the mirrors in restrooms.
29. Volunteer to read to kids at an after‑school program.
30. Let someone merge in front of you during the rush‑hour commute.
