What would YOU do for someone you loved?
I’d do just about anything.
It’s true – in fact it’s my greatest weakness.
I struggle to set boundaries. I put myself last. And quite frankly, I enjoy ignoring my own untended messes in order to help others clean theirs, leaving my own life in occasional (okay, steady) disarray.
But guess what? Loving to help is also my greatest strength (and yours too).
You have an unlimited capacity to give.
Though, many people don’t recognize this capacity. They fear that they don’t have enough to give. That they’re not important enough to change anyone’s life.
They are wrong.
Random Acts Of Kindness
If you don’t practice, and understand, the simple power of a random act of kindness, then you are setting limits on your life. Those limits keep you from living a life filled with the fun and joy that comes from simply being nice.
You hear stories all the time of everyday people transforming into heroes just by acting from their hearts under moments of duress. Think of all the people who died on 9/11 as they sacrificed their lives, trying to save strangers from the crumbling burning inferno of the Twin Towers on that tragic day. Think of the people who rushed to the area to help others with no regard for their own safety.
Remember the famous last words of Todd Beamer as he quickly said good-bye to his wife, dropping the phone, leading the charge with “Let’s roll,” as he and the other heroic passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 made the most of their precious last minutes on earth.
Because of their courage, their bravery, and their innate generosity, they possibly saved people they would never even meet, from potentially suffering their same fate.
When pushed into a dark corner of life, they dug deep inside to simply do what they had to do in that moment.
Being a hero doesn’t require
big, bold acts, though.
You don’t have to wait for someone to “turn off the lights” for you to shine – you can achieve greatness through giving to others, through just one random act of kindness at a time.
All that prevents you from giving more, is the illusion that your resources are limited.
Stop doubting the greatness in YOU.
Your doubts don’t serve you. Instead, they only add fuel to the fire of your fears, giving them greater control of YOUR life.
If you don’t know the true value of giving a kind word, a simple thank-you, or just really listening when you ask someone how their day is, then you are dismissing the true value of what you have to give, sadly tarnishing the heart of gold given to you at birth.
Our desire to do things BIG and make a massive impact on the world saves lives every day.
But you don’t have to save Africa, jump in front of bullets, or build homes in Haiti to put your mark on the world.
If you find yourself waiting to be great, yearning for the optimal time when you can “afford” to do more, then you are saying at some level, if you can’t help everyone, you help no one.
This is like saying trees don’t matter, only forests do. But you can’t save a forest unless you start by saving a tree or two.
Don’t wait to be a hero, when all it takes to touch someone’s soul is to say thank you, you’re welcome, hold a door, help someone with their groceries, or just be patient with the checkout person when all you want to do is scream.
The little things, as we like to call them, can have a compound effect in peoples’ lives.
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