“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
– TEDDY ROOSEVELT
I agree with 75% of this quote. I call bullshit on the remaining 25%. Fast and easy has gotten a bad rap, mostly because it’s either used as a shortcut or seen as one. We fixate on the thought that good things must be difficult. This mindset is praised and encouraged. It’s often accurate, but that is not always how it has to be in order to make an impact. More people will get on board if they realize it doesn’t have to be painful. I think many people like the fight of life or at least expect it. What if it didn’t have to always be so difficult? Here is a (mental) list of 7 fast and easy ways we can make the world better starting today.
Most of us aren’t going to be remembered for changing the world in a huge way that extends past our lifetime. That’s okay, it’s not necessary to make an impact. We can make a difference by being slightly more mindful in our day-to-day actions. The fast and easy way to improve the world today is something we can all do, all ages, all levels of maturity. People with issues, people without (just kidding I don’t think they exist.)
Yes, you can make a difference!
Even if you don’t think you can make a difference, or you don’t think you’re a good person, or you don’t think you deserve it, the truth is that’s just a limiting belief that you have and it’s not true. There are fast and easy ways to make the world a better place starting immediately. If we can realize that we can begin a kindness revolution! I thought of putting haha, or something similar, then I realized I’m not joking. The world is comprised of all of the events that happen to all of the creatures on the planet. We can craft a different world by changing some of our actions intentionally. Therefore we can all easily make a difference in the world.
Fast and easy ways to improve the world today #1 Be kind to yourself:
We cannot escape who we are. Our bodies and minds are with us day in and day out. So why do we treat other people better than we treat ourselves? In my practice or just talking to my friends I listen to people each day talk about how stupid they are because they made some mistake. It comes in a variety of language. It’s automatic, they just blurt it out. It seems to be the go-to for people, that they are stupid.
That’s a problem. On the logical side, doing a stupid thing doesn’t make someone a stupid person in their entirety. One unfortunate action or situation doesn’t diminish you to ‘idiot.’ However, that is the self-talk that people tend to have. If a loved one came up to you and said, “Dang, I really messed up by doing (fill in the blank),” would you say to them, “Oh it’s because you’re stupid and who says ‘dang’ anymore, you suck, go home.” Probably not.
That type of language is what we tend to say to ourselves, either out loud or in our minds. Too frequently, people treat themselves worse than they would ever treat someone else. It stops us from being our better selves, which stops us from being in a good head space or emotional place to be kinder to other people. At the end of the day, it’s harder to be kind or do things for others if we feel like crap. We would have so much more energy each day if we started with ourselves first.
For those of you who find it vital to be kind to others all the time, please put in more practice being kind to yourself. I find you are usually the ones that are meaner to yourselves.
How to do this:
I’ve heard that it takes 5 positive thoughts to counteract a negative one, to bring us back to neutral. Use that next time your mind abuses you, go ahead and have 5 positive things ready. If it happens a lot, take a picture of the 5 things or make it the screensaver on your phone. I personally use a gratitude list when I’m down on myself. I think of all that I have and it helps every single time.
#2 Flip your paradigm on your view of your own “selfish” behavior:
Selflessness can be important, at times. But I also think society has manipulated our view of it. “Noble behavior” oftentimes misinterpreted as “doing things you don’t have to and to your detriment”. What if behavior like that, at its core, is not noble but actually inauthentic and full of fear? Namely, fear of rejection. The better you as an individual wholeheartedly feel (mind, body, and spirit,) the more you can impact the world around you. When you carry the weight of others’ expectations, a wall of resentment builds around you. Poisoning meaningful change with anger, fear, and bitterness. It prevents others from seeing you for your authentic self.
How to do this:
Ask for what you need. Maybe it’s a 5-minute walk, maybe it’s a laugh or a smile, maybe it’s a bath with no interruptions, maybe it’s a hug. Ask. The answer is always ‘no’ unless you ask. When you take care of yourself, and nurture You as you do others you tear down that wall of resentment. You have more energy to meet different situations. At that point, you can begin to truly connect with other people in a way that makes a positive impact all around.
#3 Be a teacher and student in every conversation:
Be curious and open to new information. Share what you know whether it is knowledge or your thoughts and feelings. It makes conversations more interesting. Don’t hoard your info or think what you have to say doesn’t matter; it does. At our core, we crave to be seen, heard, and understood. When we listen with an open curiosity about what others have to say we learn. An authentic connection is made by sharing who we are and what we find valuable.
How to do this:
Practice makes proficient.
#4 Look for the positive in others, especially when you don’t want to:
This helps us to see things from a different perspective. We tend to find what we look for. It’s easier for humans to see negative patterns. In the past they kept us safe, so now they’re glaring, but if you want to make a little bit of a change in the world, look for the good. If you are intentional about finding something nice about someone else, you will find it.
How to do this:
Practice makes proficient.
Fast and Easy Ways to Improve The World Today #5 Give someone the benefit of the doubt:
I doubt that I’m the only person to ever be so freaking confident that I’m right about someone’s process or “true” motivation behind something… and then have it blow up in my face. To think someone did something they didn’t or said something they didn’t say.
How to do this:
Something I have learned when I initially get annoyed or angry is to ask myself, “what would this situation look like if this person had my best interest at heart?” Even if I don’t believe they did this makes me flip my paradigm of, “they’re deliberately trying to cause me pain” to “what would it look like if they were trying to help me?” That immediately takes away my annoyance and helps me get into a better mindset. Even if my more protective self was correct and they were trying to hurt me, it helps me have a better conversation.
#6 Do small kind things for 5 other people for 7 days – How to:
Practice doing small acts of kindness for 5 different people a day every day for a week – that’s 35 acts of kindness. Those 35 people might take that bit of kindness you manufactured for them and spread that to other people. Scatter your acts of kindness and it will have an exponential effect. Practice small things – such as to hold a door, give an honest compliment, send a hand-written note, tell someone you love them, give someone more patience than they deserve, tip that extra dollar or two, pick up some litter, ask someone how their day is going and actually care about the answer, etc. These small things will add up to the community positivity.
Fast and easy ways to improve the world today #7 Acknowledge people:
I am not proud to say that this is something I have to work on. I’m often so busy and I’m moving from place to place that I just move past people. I don’t like that. I think something we can do is learn to just acknowledge the humanity in others.
How to do this:
If you’re wearing a mask, learn to smile with your eyes, if you’re not, smile. Look people in the eyes as you talk or pass them. Don’t focus on if they do it back, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you did and you made the effort.
Frequently, we don’t do little acts of kindness for others as we’re unsure of how they’ll be received. Therefore, we don’t do something we could that would make the world a little better. What if we didn’t focus on our own egos and just did a few things a day just because it was kind and because it was a fast and easy way to improve the World? When we don’t acknowledge others it makes the divide that is happening between people that much greater. And it doesn’t have to be that way.
As Brené Brown says, “It’s hard to hate people up close.” I think that’s a beautiful statement.
