Wednesday Wellness Tool: Pay it Forward

I was once at work on one of those sweltering hot days for which San Francisco buildings are simply unequipped. We were all working in a sort of whiny slow-motion. Then our CEO went to the store and came back with ice-cream treats for the entire staff.  

I carefully picked a Ben & Jerry's bar from the bag and ate it across from my supervisor and her ice cream sandwich. Our demonstrative enthusiasm quickly faded into that quiet contentedness unique to the act of eating ice cream. It was awesome.

A few days later, on an equally hot day, in an equally ill-eqipped setting, I was at a work site in which the adolescent program participants and adults alike were disengaged. Energy was low, folks weren't doing what was expected of them, and a handful of participants left early. I was frustrated with the system as a whole and went to my office to take a breather. 

Outside my window sat the remaining participants, still on-site and adhering to expectations despite the heat and rampant checked-outedness surrounding them. Before I knew it I was three blocks away buying out the corner store of Choco tacos, Push-Pops, and Nestle Drumsticks. I came back to distribute the treats, watched faces light up, and then relished again in that familiar frozen treat silence. 

Now, this isn't the kind of thing I do all the time, but in this situation I was able to access an idea readily because I had the felt experience of being the recipient of the action. 

This happens all the time, likely on an unconscious level. Think of that person walking down the street smiling at you and seemingly the whole world. Sometimes that smile is infectious and you end up putting out the same energy (I know, I know, sometimes if you're in a certain mood, you wonder what the eff that person is so happy about. That's okay too). 

Sometimes, we receive a piece of advice and have the opportunity to pass it along to another person. Other times a person waits an extra 15 seconds to hold a door open for you and in an instant you remember to wait a bit longer for the next person.

So in its most simple form this tool is a question to ask yourself: How can I pay it forward, whatever "it" may be? (perhaps you can pull from its cousin tool, Perform A Random Act of Kindness, the slight difference being that you hold it in your mind as something you do that the recipient might be able to do for someone else and this is what you suggest if they attempt to repay you)

In addition, here is a website dedicated to an entire Pay It Forward Global Movement. And what do you know? There's an app for that.

Just the thought of readers spending an extra 10 seconds paying something forward is pleasant and warming. And if you literal-minded folk end up buying someone some ice cream, well, I can think of gestures far, far worse. 

---