What Good Do You Bring?

[salixj]

This is a three part exercise, the first part to do in the morning, the second at within a few minutes of preforming certain acts, the last part at night. If your day has already begun do this exercise tomorrow morning.

What good do you have in you today? How can you spread this good to others?

The good you do doesn't have to be headline news type, and in fact it is likely not to be headline news. It is simple things you can do for the world at large. Help someone with their packages get in the door, hold the elevator, greet your neighbor warmly - perhaps the one that never smiles, thank your waitress or the doorman or the garbage collector, engage in pleasant chit-chat with the cashier, compliment a fellow worker on their idea or work performance (note to guys, don't compliment a woman on her appearance unless you are married/dating her), offer to buy a friend a coffee or pay in advance for someone, bring in doughnuts for everyone in your office put together a package for a homeless person - socks, some money, a sandwich, water bottle, small containers of soap & shampoo. Yes, you may do these everyday and that is wonderful! Make it a point today to go further than normal.

PART ONE:
Write down five things that you will do for others today, small gestures or large. Leave space besides each item in order to complete the exercise later.


PART TWO:
Do these things! And as you are doing them, observe the other person. How do they react to your action? If negative or neutral don't despair or allow your anger to continue - it is natural to feel angry if someone doesn't value a kind gesture - tell yourself, "good is independent of appreciation, a baby rarely says thanks".

If the response is positive, perhaps you can develop it further. Having held the door open and received a thanks, add "your welcome, have a lovely day!" (Keep it within reasonable bounds)

The point here is to observe, how do you feel upon making the gesture? How do you feel seeing their response? In thinking about it, how do you feel now? 

Make a mental note of their reactions and your feelings,  and as soon as possible, when you have a minute or two alone, write down in your journal  (or on a separate piece of paper to add to your journal when you get home) the following: 
a)your immediate feeling
b)their reaction
c)your reaction to their reaction d)whether by telling yourself "a baby rarely says thanks" helped you deal with a negative or neutral reaction.
 

PART THREE
Look over what you have given to the world, and the reactions. How do you feel now? Regardless of how your action were received, can you see the good in them? What received the best response? Why do you think that was? Can you build on any of these actions to make it a regular habit of giving? Or improve on the giving?

Each of us has many gifts to give the world, what is your gift?