Showing Appreciation for Hard Work

In the building where I live, we have a guy who does most of the cleaning around the building each day. He does the vacuuming, mopping, windows, garbage etc. He also clean up the parking lot outside which is something I really appreciate as I like to live in an environment that is clean. Over the years I have gotten to know him and he is a good guy. I let him know whenever there are any issues and he always takes care of them.

The building we live in is very large so maintaining it is a full time job. I started to notice each day after work he would walk out to his car dressed in another work uniform. I realized he must have a 2^nd job that he goes to after this one. I thought to myself, that is a lot of work! He is doing a full day of hard work here and then going right to another job for who knows how long.

He has a daughter around college age so I figured he is probably working a 2^nd job to help cover college expenses. I decided I wanted to do something nice for him to show my appreciation for everything he does around the building. We have a grocery store across the street so I planned to get him a $20 gift card for the store.

Now I don't earn much money myself and I live very frugally so the idea of just spending $20 on a gift card for someone else is not something I normally do. I remember the first time I went into the store and stood in front of the gift cards, I actually didn't get it because I felt like I was not really in position to spend money like that. But the next time I went in, I decided to do it so I bought the card.

On the card, I wrote a little note about how I appreciate all his hard work and everything he does around the building. The next time I saw a good opportunity I gave him the card. It was not a holiday time or anything so he probably was not expecting something like this. When I gave it to him, he even said I didn't have to do it because he enjoys his work, but I insisted that he keep it. He said thank you and was very appreciative.

It feels good to do something nice for someone especially when it is out of the blue and unexpected. He works a job where he probably does not get a lot of recognition. A gesture like this lets him know he is doing a good job and people are thankful for the work he does.

If there is someone in your life like this that you appreciate, make sure to let them know. Even just going out of your way to say thank you can mean a lot to someone.

Make Things Better, Not Worse

These days it seems like there is so much negativity in the world. We see it in the news and the media every day. We see it online and even in real life.

When you think about it, it really comes down to people and how they choose to behave. People have the ability to be positive or negative. They have the ability to do good things or bad things.

I think most people would agree that good is better than bad. We want to live in a world where good things happen and life is good. So why do people continue to perpetuate negativity?

There can be a lot of reasons behind it. One is that negativity, like positivity is contagious. For example if someone is having a bad day and they are in a bad mood, they are more likely to spread that mood to others. For example they might put somebody down or say a mean comment, not because they would normally do that, but because they are just in a bad mood.

On the contrary, if someone is having a good day and they are in a good mood, they are more likely to spread this feeling to others.

While it can be hard to be positive when you are feeling down, we need to keep this thought in mind and remember that we have the ability to control what we do and say. It is inevitable that bad things will happen every once in a while, but we have the choice to perpetuate that feeling or stop it in its tracks and choose to be positive despite feeling bad.

A little quote I came up with is “Make things better, not worse”. This means try to make the world a better place, not a worse place. It refers to everything we do or say no matter how little it may be. We as humans have so much influence on the world around us. We can choose to be positive and make things better, or we can choose to be negative and make things worse. If we want to live in a world that is good, it is easy to decide which one to choose.

There are a lot of other reasons why people may decide to be negative. For example maybe they are unhappy with themselves and because of this, they are always in a bad mood which affects their everyday life. Another reason could be jealousy. For example maybe someone sees another person and they are jealous of who they are or what they have and because of this, they feel the need to bring them down.

Some people have the misfortune of being raised in a poor environment. Someone who is raised in a bad neighborhood with crime may be influenced by this type of behavior. Someone who grows up without responsible parental or guardian figures may not learn the basics of how to be a decent human being.

In situations like this, it is not their fault. There is no easy solution to fix situations like this especially when there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in these situations.

Guidance and education at an early age can help but people have to continue to make the effort to be positive and stay away from negativity. If more people make the conscious decision to make things better and not worse, the world should slowly shift in that direction. The message is simple and if we can stick to it, we can make the world a better place.

Good Deeds - Helping People

The other day I was in a grocery store and I saw someone had left their keys on a table where you get your blood pressure measured.  I thought, should I leave them there, or turn them into the pharmacy right by it.  I decided to turn them in because then they would be safe and if someone called the store or asked about them, they would have them.  As I was walking away, someone who was in line said something like, "There's a good Samaritan".  It made me feel good.  I hope the person comes back and gets their keys.

Not everyone does the right thing.  A few years back I remember a student of mine saying how he had once found a wallet and instead of trying to return it, he took the cash and tossed it.  I can't believe he did that.  Granted, he was young and one of the more troublesome students, but still, you would expect that people would try to do the right thing in a situation like that.

Today, I had the opportunity to help someone out, and I wanted to, but I passed on it because I was unsure.  Let me explain.  I was shopping for some parts for my car when a stranger approached me and asked if I could give him a jump start for his car.  I was a little surprised, but I was willing to help. I asked him where the car was and he said it was little ways away, somewhere where I was unfamiliar with.  The area I was in, is not a very good area, and I was not sure I could trust this guy.  He was friendly, but something about the situation just told me not to risk it. 

I thought perhaps I would go to this car with this guy to help him out and then get jumped or robbed or worse.  I didn't have a lot of time to think about all the different variables at the time, so I told him I was kind of in a hurry.  He thanked me anyway and we parted ways.  I would have liked to help him for sure, if only I could be certain his intentions were genuine.  At the time I thought, why couldn't he call someone he knew, or ask someone out by where his car was parked.  I just felt like it might have been a scam or something, so I passed up the opportunity.

Have you ever been in a situation like this?  Have you done a good deed for a stranger or have someone go out of their way to help you out?