Every day you have the ability to make a difference to somebody’s life.
It’s not always the big things that make the big difference; It’s the small little often overlooked things that can make a huge difference to someone. Just saying hello, smiling can do the trick. A please and thank you, opening the door for someone, giving up your seat on the bus or train will go along way to making that persons ordinary day into a memorable one. Congratulating a work colleague for a job well done all go to crediting their self-esteem account. What about you, can you remember a time when you did a good deed or were acknowledged? What did it feel like?
Research has shown that when we perform an act of kindness and thoughtfulness for our fellow human beings, something magical happens on two fronts. The first is that indescribable inner feeling the receiver gets that someone has cared enough to acknowledge them. It doesn’t stop there; the giver of this thoughtful gesture also receives an inner glow. The second piece of magic inspires and motivates the receiver to perform the same act to someone else; after all, as human beings, we all feed off each other.
Someone once said that no one can really motivate anyone else; all we can do is motivate ourselves and hope it catches on. You will probably never know how much you influence others with your behaviour.
When you always go the extra mile, you will influence those in your circle of friends and acquaintances, your family, your work colleagues, and even your bosses to do more and better than they have done before. Your value to yourself and others is greatly enhanced by your ability to make such a difference.
