I think it’s a very human thing to want to do good – the need/want/urge to help one another is probably what helped humanity survive as long as it did. But sometimes it’s difficult to understand the impact any of your actions are having. Unless you’re donating hundreds to charity, or building homes for the homeless, sometimes it may feel like all your efforts of kindness are in vain.
But you don’t need to be a millionaire to be extraordinary – you don’t need to have solved world hunger, or made a deal for world peace – you just need to be human. Sometimes, it’s the small things you do that really make a difference to people.
I think back to all the times my friends have said to me: ‘you probably don’t remember this, but…’ and described a, for me, small moment – but one that had really stuck with them. I can think of a few of my own.
When I had just moved to university for the first time, I was struggling to fit in. I had joined a society, but was ready to call it quits because I felt I never really belonged or assimilated to their clearly defined circles. But then something changed – on an especially bad day, where I was gearing up to say goodbye – one of the members, who I never really spoke to, said my name.
Knowing my name was such a shocking thing to me – I felt like I hadn’t made any progress in making myself known, but the fact that my name was known by another was enough to move me to stay. It’s a decision I’m glad I chose, because now I’m on committee, and I made it my personal goal to remember the names of every fresher that joins – just so nobody ever feels alone.
Sometimes it’s the smallest things that you do for another that stick with them. Sometimes when I’m feeling particularly lonely, I’ll remember it. I’ll remember how, even for a day, I wasn’t just a nobody.
If you’re enjoying reading this article, why not check out this article about a parent group is advocating for peace here.
That small act of kindness led to me wanting to mimic it – it began a chain, and one that I hope continues for years to come.
The comments you make, or the compliments you give aren’t just one off statements – they can make people’s days/weeks/lives. Words and actions sometimes hold more weight than money and investments ever could – to let people know that they matter and exist as a person in your life is, for some, all they ever need to hear.
What if you lived each day believing that you were already affecting others – even in ways you can’t immediately see? What if you started treating every conversation interaction, and more like it would echo beyond you? Because it just might.
Your kindness might be the good that somebody carries with them for the rest of their lives – and isn’t that extraordinary?
