We talked last week about how connection as a part of the Five Ways to Wellbeing is a simple way to introduce good habits to your life to improve your emotional health. Another of the five ways is to give, which is one of the quickest and easiest ways to introduce some emotional rewards into your day to day life.
Say thank you to someone who has helped you or made a difference to your day
Obviously we tend to say “thank you” or words to that effect loads of times every day, but when was the last time that you really felt it? Thanking someone for doing something that normally gets taken for granted is a powerful way to make a person feel valued, for example “thank you for being patient with me lately” or “thank you for listening to me”. Going out of your way to thank a person who has helped us out can make them feel great and in turn, make us feel great.
Bake a cake for a friend or family member (for no reason!)
It’s a widely acknowledged fact that baking is good for the soul, so why not share the love by gifting the goods to your friend.
Smile at strangers
When you smile at a person and they smile back it makes you realise how powerful you are. Smiling says to a person that you accept them and that you’re here with them – it’s no wonder that it’s infectious! With that in mind, remember that a smile is the easiest and cheapest gift to give in the world.
Pay it forward
This is a great little trend inspired by the idea of random acts of kindness that has been sweeping the globe – the idea is that you start a chain of goodwill by doing a nice thing for another person, who, in turn, does a nice thing for another person, rather than returning the favour to you directly. Some cheap and easy way to do this are to buy a coffee for the next person in the queue or leave a nice note in the front cover of a book you donate to charity.
Donate to charity
Making a real difference is easier than you think when you donate to a small charity. Money donated by members of the public is disproportionately powerful; unlike other sources of funding, charities are able to use this money in places with greater need in ways that they know will be the most effective. Charities do not have the same freedom with the funds that they receive from government or grants and are often required to meet other people’s targets. Giving to a small charity packs a real punch.