Here are ten little gestures, all of them easily within our grasp, that can spread goodwill in our own communities, as well as increase our own sense of mindfulness about the people around us and our relationship to them.

Tip generously: When you have great service in a restaurant, leave a tip greater than the usual 15% to 20%. Leaving a larger than usual tip for great service not only puts a little extra money in your servers’ pocket, it tells them that they’re appreciated, a message that often slips our minds in our demanding, service-now society.

Compliment someone: Tell someone how much you like the job they’re doing, their outfit or new haircut, whatever. Be honest and sincere. Don’t expect anything in return, just let someone know that something they’re doing is great and move on.

Be totally open with someone: Let someone know exactly how you feel about something on your mind.  We often keep too much to ourselves; letting someone into your thoughts can be a great way to show your trust and appreciation of them.

Give someone a book you’ve read: Making a gift of something you’ve read and enjoyed is more than just a nice gesture, it’s a way of showing someone that a) you think of them, b) you understand them, and c) you want to share something with them. The moment doesn’t end when they take the book – once they’ve read it, you can talk about your reactions together.

Make something for someone: Bake an extra batch of cookies, draw a picture, decorate an extra Christmas ornament, and give it to someone for no good reason. Like giving someone a book, it tells them that you were thinking about them and wanted to do something nice for them, and that it’s something you made adds a nice touch. Give without expectations – whether they return the favor or not, whether they like it or not, whether they’re nice to you or not, these are all irrelevant.

Send a letter, email, tweet, or text message out of the blue: Email someone you haven’t spoken with for a while, or text someone you see every day just to be nice. Maybe they’ll respond, maybe not – it’s beside the point. They just need to know that they’re important to you.

Commend an employee to their manager: It’s one thing to tip or compliment someone for their service, it’s another to contact their manager and tell them what a great job they’ve done. If you don’t have time at the time of service, note the employees name and call, email, or write a letter later.

Teach someone how to do something: Share your skill or talent with someone by showing them how to do something. Not so they won’t bother you with it, but so they can move a little bit towards improved mastery of the world around them. Have patience and respect for the person you’re helping – you’re giving them a gift, not compensating for some lack in their character.

Let someone shine: Put a spotlight on someone else’s talents by letting them take over a presentation, deferring to their wisdom, asking them advice, or otherwise flex their “talent muscles”. Especially if they are junior to you, giving them a chance to strut their stuff shows that you trust them and appreciate them, as well as allowing them to get the attention they deserve (and which might often be obscured by your own shadow).

Connect like minds: Introduce two friends or colleagues who you feel have something to gain from each other. You’ll be letting them know you value them – and maybe creating a partnership that will make everyone better off.

You’ve probably heard the saying “Practice random acts of kindness”, and that’s basically what I’m talking about here. Anything that shows people you care about them has the potential to make the world, or your small corner of it, a better place.

Have a great day!

Dr. Jason Gerard DC

Source: Lifehack.org

That being said, there are times in life when things don’t go as expected.  I know a lot of people who are under a tremendous amount of stress right now.  So I thought it might be helpful to talk about ways to handle the stress.  Here are a few tips you can use to improve how you feel when you’re under stress. 

1. Calm Yourself Down 

Before you do anything else, try to calm yourself down.  Don’t panic.  Take deep breaths and try to relax.  The rest of the tips below won’t help you if you aren’t calm.

2. Feed Your Mind With Positive Thoughts

When you’re under stress, it’s easy to fall into the vicious cycle of negative thoughts.  The problem with this is the negative thought cycle will actually make things seem worse than they already are.  It’s important that you break this cycle so you don’t become a victim of your own thoughts.

3. Think About The Good

When under stress, our minds tend to focus on the negative and not the positive.  So direct your mind to the positive.  Even when things are going bad, or things are stressful, there are good things happening in your life.  Think about the good people around you.  Try to balance out your perspective so that you don’t dwell on only the negative.

4. Look At The Big Picture

Something you’re stressed about might not seem as bad if you step back and look at the big picture.  Try to get another perspective on what’s going on.

5.  Believe That Everything Will Be All Right

What you believe has an effect on you, whether you like it or not.  That’s just the way it is.  So if you believe that things will go wrong, then that would usually be the case.  On the other hand, if you believe that everything will be all right, you have a much better chance of that actually happening.

6. Exercise

When you’re under stress, make sure you take the time to exercise.  Exercise is related to positive mental health and helps with depression and anxiety.

7. Forgive

Mahatma Gandhi said: “The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”  Sometimes in life, you need to forgive others.  Sometimes you need to forgive yourself.  Work on forgiveness.

8. Take Action

Things in your life aren’t going to get any better if you just sit around and do nothing.  Focus on solutions to improving your stress and any problems you have in life and then set up the action steps you need to take to make it happen.

9. Gratitude

Practice gratitude.  What are you grateful for?  Who are you grateful for?  Focus on what’s right in your life instead of what’s wrong.  Every day answer this question…”What am I grateful for?”  Focusing on gratitude regularly is very powerful.

10. Get Adjusted

Chiropractic care has a tremendous stress reducing effect on your body.  Make sure you take care of your body regularly when you are under stress.  Make sure you are eating healthy foods, getting plenty of rest, and keep your muscles and joints healthy with chiropractic care and massage therapy.

I hope these help you out.  If you know anyone who’s under a lot of stress, email them these tips to help them out.

Have a great day and I’ll talk to you soon,

Dr. Jason Gerard

Lakewoods Chiropractic

Resource: www.lifeoptimizer.org