Try These 10 Small Things Right Now to Feel Better

If everyone put forth a little effort towards making the world a better place, it would simply become a better place. If everyone smiled a bit more, opened doors for strangers, and helped keep our outdoor spaces clean, we would live in a brighter and friendlier world.
These little things may not seem like much, but collectively they can change the world. Pick two (or more) to do today and see how your perception of the world around you changes.
You help mold your environment.

Improving Your Life, Community, and the World – One Small Step at a Time

• 1. Smile More – It seems as though we live in a time where avoiding eye contact is the norm. For the sake of your mood and others around you, smile. If someone says good morning, smile and say it back. Or better yet, you say good morning first. Simple niceties should never be downplayed as their presence (or absence) can truly change someone’s day.

• 2. If you see garbage, pick it up – If you see an empty paper cup on the sidewalk, do you walk by it? Pick it up. You may not have been responsible for it, but you can be responsible for helping keep things clean. Truly, litter and clutter can change the attitude of a community. Rather than place blame, do your part to make things more beautiful.

• 3. Buy someone’s coffee (or tea) – Random acts of kindness are good for everyone involved. Buy the next person in line their beverage.

• 4. Grow a garden – Whether it’s in your backyard, in containers on your patio, or in a community garden, growing food isn’t only good for your health, it’s good for your soul and the environment. You can even use food scraps to grow various plants.

• 5. Speak to strangers – Say hello to strangers. When you’re waiting in line, talk about the weather. Small talk used to be more common, but we’ve allowed the concept of “stranger danger” to come in between us, despite crime rates being at historic lows.

• 6. Conquer fear – Fear can hold you back from experiencing the things in life that are most fulfilling. When you conquer your fear of failure, your fear of emotional intimacy, or your fear of becoming everything you’ve ever dreamed of, you’re free to be fulfilled.

• 7. Give when you get – Whenever you get a little, give a little. Try donating to a good cause or volunteering for an organization you know is sincere. Support companies that support others and give back based on your purchase. It doesn’t get much better than helping others.

• 8. Take responsibility for your results – The blame game serves no one. When you take responsibility for your actions and the results they garner, you become an active participant in building the life of your dreams.

• 9. Visit with your neighbors – Communities are forged on the little conversations had at mailboxes, in driveways, as you take out the garbage or help one another scoop the sidewalk.

• 10. Apply what you’ve learned – When you know better, you owe it to yourself and everyone around you to do better. Apply the concepts you hold dear in your everyday life.