think positively. give generously.

Worried about finals? Convinced that because stressed spells “desserts” backwards, you can eat all the candy and chocolate you want, but now you just feel tired and lazy? Well here are a few tips and stories that really improved my mood today!

1. A message from my roommate, dispelling the negative air in my household and cheering all of us on to think positively and push ourselves to do well:

“I will not stand for this negativity in my household. People would kill to be in our places. Danielle, you just had an interview with L’Oréal. That is AMAZING. Laurel already has a job at Target. Paris is interviewing for her dream animation job in Soho. Anna will be traipsing around France with an amazing internship. You are incredible people and studying for finals is going to pay off when you are able to work hard in your dream jobs. So YAY positivity!  Positive thinking yields positive results. Pure fact”.

2. My mom’s voicemail, telling me about a complete stranger that walked up to her today while on line at the Christmas Tree Shop and handed her a coupon for $10 off any purchase over $25. Apparently the store was mobbed with people, but this woman just so happened to pick my mom out of the crowd. My mom was so excited by this generous gesture, asking the woman why she had chose her out of everyone in line. The woman said she just felt this positive vibe emanating from my mom, telling her that she could really use the coupon. Interestingly enough, my mom was buying toys to donate to Toys for Tots. Isn’t that really great?! It’s pure proof that positive moods are socially contagious! My mom was doing something nice and feeling pretty good; this carried over to the other woman in the store, inspiring her to do something nice as well!

In a study conducted at Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego, researchers found that when a person becomes happy, a friend living close by has a 25 percent higher chance of becoming happy themselves. A spouse experiences an 8 percent increased chance and for next-door neighbors, it’s 34 percent. When one person becomes happy, the social network effect can spread up to 3 degrees – reaching friends of friends. So check it out. Who are you near? Are the people around you smiling?

3. The Free Hugs Campaign, an amazing, feel-good video, especially when you need a hug!

the little things

I’m so happy to hear some of your responses to the first spread your smile challenge! I found that a key theme among many of your stories was the importance of the little things. It’s always the little things that have the power to really make a difference in someone’s day, week, or even life.

This inspired me to sweeten up someone’s day. I bought a couple of giant chocolate chip cookies at Amer’s and I gave them to some of my friends who always make me laugh or go out of their way to help me out. People love to be reminded of how much you mean to them, so this small gesture definitely made them happy and of course it made me feel good too!

Be on the look out for the next challenge and keep smiling, it’s contagious 🙂

peppermint mocha

Today happened to be the perfect day for a coffee giveaway – it was two for the price of one on all holiday drinks at Starbucks from 2-5. Unfortunately, everyone in line was already in a pair, planning their drink orders and preparing to split the cost. I couldn’t find a person that was alone that I could pay for, so I ordered an extra peppermint mocha and planned to find someone to give it to.

After picking up my drink orders, I left Starbucks and started down the sidewalk. Within a minute at most, I happened to run into my friend Carly who I haven’t seen in a really long time. She was actually heading toward Starbucks herself to grab coffee with two of her friends.

As you can guess, I offered Carly my extra peppermint mocha and she was so excited! That was the exact drink she planned to order. She gave me a big hug and it made me feel really good inside. I technically didn’t even pay for the coffee, but the sentiment was there and I know it made her happy.

saying sorry

If you’ve read the bio under “my inspiration,” then you probably already know that this is my experiment in kindness (emphasis on experiment).

I’m not always sugary sweet and today has been one of those days. I got into an argument with my mom over the phone and I accused her of only pretending to care about me. In all actuality, this woman would do just about anything for anyone. I really mean that.

I know I hurt her feelings, but I would never intentionally want her to feel bad. While I might have normally just waited to call her until later, I decided to call her back immediately and apologize for my attitude.

In doing so, I realized that it’s not always about being nice and pleasant and giving, even though that would be great, but it’s about apologizing when you make a mistake.

If you mess up, admit it.

Say your sorry and it will go a long way.

smile @ strangers

Today, like every other day, my mom called me to talk and ask me how I was doing. Normally I talk about school or clubs or recruiting, but today I talked about smiling at strangers.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I set out to check off three things on my should-do list. One item that I chose was smiling at strangers.

It sounds simple and it really was. It was an interesting experiment though. I’d say about 30% of people smiled back at my smile, making me feel a teensy bit happier, like I had made a friend for split second. It was nice to share a few moments of  human contact with people I didn’t know and might not see again. A smile can go a long way. I mean, here I am writing about it right now.

Then there were the no-response people. The expressionless were definitely the most prevalent group of the bunch. I probably received a blank stare more than half of the time I smiled at people I didn’t know.

Finally, there was my favorite, this girl who was completely taken aback by my smile. I smiled at her and she looked behind her, trying to see exactly who I was smiling at. There happened to be no one behind her, so she looked confused. I kind of laughed, of course still smiling (does a laugh count as a smile?). Then she shrugged her shoulders in an innocent “oops” kind of way and smiled back at me. It was really great.

And that was my experiment in smiling. Easy right?

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” MT

should-do

Good morning bloggers!

Today’s post is inspired by an image that I found on Favim.com, one of my all-time favorite sites. By the day’s end, I want to check off three things.

While this list is not solely focused on doing good for others, I think it’s important to recognize that we should also be treating ourselves with kindness.

I am going to make a conscious effort to fulfill three things on this list today and later I will post with some stories.

If you too feel inspired to do something on this list, even if it’s singing or eating some ice cream, feel free to let us know!

airport acts

This blog post comes from the air. I went home to New Jersey this weekend to visit my boyfriend and now I’m on my way back to U of M.

Everyone knows that airports and plane rides are no fun, so I set out to make some people’s trips just a little better.

I let a hurried man cut me in the security line. I moved my seat at the gate so a husband could sit next to his wife. And I swapped seats with a woman on the plane so she could be more comfortable with her child on board.

The first man and the third woman were so appreciative. They made me feel like I had really done something nice. The flight attendant even offered me a snack only available to first-class as a sort of thank you for helping the overwhelmed mother.

The couple didn’t seem all that thankful, but it still made me feel good and I consider that a win.

kisses of kindness

I’m a big chocoholic – addicted to Reeses and Godvia, peppermint bark and homemade brownies. I love the way a rich bite of chocolate just melts in your mouth and makes your day.

When I was a little girl, my mom would surprise me from time to time with a chocolate kiss in my coat pocket or my brown-bagged lunch at school. This wasn’t every day, but it always brought a smile to my face. It was simple and innocent. It made me happy. This got me thinking that I could do something similar.

I decidedly bought a big bag of Hershey kisses and began leaving them in different places for my friends to find. I put one on Paris’ pillow. Another one in Cameron’s backpack. A kiss in Alison’s glove. And many more.

I like to think that they’re “kisses of kindness”.

pen & paper

You know that feeling you get when you receive a letter in the mail? You feel all special and kind of warm inside. Someone took the time to hand write you a letter, address the envelope, and send it in the mail. You can’t help but feel good.

In a world of emails and text messages, tweets and Facebook chats, I am passionate about bringing back the lost art of letter writing. I’ve decided to send a card to each of my grandmothers, just for the sake of saying hello. I am really interested to see how they will respond. Maybe a letter in return? A phone call? A huge smile across their face?

Let’s mail them and see!