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They say the little things in life make it worth living. And with how crazy the world is today, doing something nice for someone, no matter how small it may seem to you, could completely change their life.
Recently, a person asked online, “What’s a small act of kindness you were once shown, that you’ll never forget?” Here are the inspiring stories you won’t soon forget.
#1. Honesty Of Kids
One of the best things about young kids is they have no filters. They will tell you what they are thinking. Of course, this can also be a bad thing, but it was a positive experience in this case.
“I’ve always struggled with my appearance, but it peaked one day when I saw myself up close on video for the first time in about a year. I thought I looked awful, and I lost all self-confidence. I stopped putting any effort into my appearance for a while, and went outdoors only in sweatpants and t-shirts. Then, one day, my best friend had her birthday party. I thought it’d be rude to her to show up looking like a slob, so for the first time in a while I curled my hair, put on a dress, and did my make-up.
As I was walking home, I passed a couple and their daughters, probably 4 and 6-7. As we passed each other I saw the younger girl staring at me, and then she exclaimed ‘Wooow, look! Wasn’t she beautiful?’ I walked around a corner and actually cried a little. Children are so brutally honest, and knowing that somebody’s first reaction to me was ‘beautiful’ was a type of encouragement I’ve never felt before.”
#2. Bike Breakdown
There is nothing worse than being stranded on the side of the road. At the very least, you hope for a ride to the nearest gas station to get help. But in this case, the person went above and beyond.
“Riding my bike on a long trip through Canada. With about 50 miles to go, I had a major mechanical failure. Stuck on the side of the road in a foreign country within 5 minutes at least 10 cars had stopped to check on me. One guy loaded my bike in the back of his truck and drove me 30 miles to the border where I could catch a ferry back to the US. Amazing kindness and generosity toward a stranger. He just asked that I pay it forward and to date I’ve helped 5 cyclists who were broken down in honor of that promise.”
#3. Digging Through The Trash
We all have times when we accidentally throw something out in the trash. We then must decide if digging through the garbage is worth the effort. In the case of car keys, the answer is yes.
“Once in high school, I ate at a Mexican restaurant and unknowingly threw away my car keys on my tray when I was done eating. I went and asked a worker if he had cleared them off the table and he said no, but that he had just taken the trash out to the dumpster. I remember going outside and calling my dad to ask if there was a spare and he told me no. So I went back inside feeling humiliated and about to ask if I could look through the dumpster only to see that this man had already dug through the dumpster on my behalf and ended up finding my keys for me. He just went above and beyond and to this day I am so grateful for his help.”
Related: Learn how to become a better person
#4. Buying The Last Item For Sale
Nothing is worse than going to the store to buy the one thing you need, and someone ahead of you is buying the last one. Most times, you are left to figure out what to do next. In this case, the other person helped out.
“Last year my son and I went to Lowe’s to buy his Grandpa a weed eater and a certain attachment that goes with it. Grandpa is a little older and slower than he used to be, but he does a lot for us, so we wanted to spend a little money to help make his life a little easier.
As we get there, there’s only one of the attachments left that we wanted. Well, there was a guy there getting it down for another customer. My son looked devastated. He knew how much his Grandpa had been wanting this stuff and we were going to surprise him with it. My son looked at me and quietly said, ‘That’s the last one. What are we going to do for Pa now?’ Well, the guy overheard and saw the look on my son’s face, so he casually handed it to me and said, ‘I think Pa needs this more than I do. I’ll just get an IOU from the store’.”
#5. Feeding A College Kid
When in college, money is tight, and when it comes to food, noodles and other cheap food are your best friend. During my junior year, I worked part-time at a car rental store. My job was to wash cars and take them in for service.
Many days I worked alone, but on some occasions, another guy would work with me. He was retired and doing the job for something to do. One day, we were both working and had to pick up a car from the mechanic. My co-worker drove me to pick up the vehicle.
On the way, he pulled into McDonald’s and asked me what I wanted. I told him I didn’t have any money on me. He said, ‘I know. You’re in college. Order whatever you want, it’s on me.’
#6. Homesick
Being away from home for the first time is challenging for everyone. Knowing that kind people will help you through the hard times is nice.
“I told my co-worker I just really missed home and most of all: a home cooked meal. I was 19 and moved away from home for the first time to a big city for a job opportunity. I’d never been away from my Mom before, or even been alone for longer than like two weeks. I could cook basically nothing and everything I did was just missing something, so mostly lived off takeout and microwave meals, which I was starting to get really, really sick of. I just wanted a nice meal made with love and fresh ingredients. Anyway, I told my co-worker that and the next day she came in with five homemade meals in containers for me to eat for the next week.”
#7. Words Of Encouragement
Sometimes, a person simply saying the right thing to you at the right time makes all the difference in the world. This is what happened to one man.
“I was in NYC taking a lunch break at a job I absolutely hated. I was sitting eating alone at a McDonald’s and after about 15 minutes this man in his 40’s or 50’s (I’m a 28 year old male at the time) goes up to me and says something like ‘Hey man, you look really sad. Things will get better.’ and just shook my hand. Takes a lot for one adult man to offer that up to another strange man. Really cheered me up.”
Related: Take the Kindness Challenge
#8. Using Positive Words To Correct Someone
When we have to tell people they are doing something wrong, how we say it can make all the difference in the world.
“I was a newbie in the restaurant business and the owner walked over to me while I was making a sandwich. Very politely says to me ‘when I wrote that in the menu I envisioned this’, and showed me how to make it the right way. What a nice way to say, you are doing it wrong, do it this way.”
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Jon Dulin is the passionate leader of Unfinished Success, a personal development website that inspires people to take control of their own lives and reach their full potential. His commitment to helping others achieve greatness shines through in everything he does. He’s an unstoppable force with lots of wisdom, creativity, and enthusiasm – all focused on helping others build a better future. Jon enjoys writing articles about productivity, goal setting, self-development, and mindset. He also uses quotes and affirmations to help motivate and inspire himself. You can learn more about him on his About page.