By Felicia Czochanski
February may be a short month, but it’s full of the best holidays. It’s best known as the month to celebrate love, but also giving to others. February 17th was Random Acts of Kindness Day, an awareness day to celebrate kindness and encourage a pay-it-forward mentality. So early into the new year, it’s important to rewire ourselves to remember to prioritize what’s really important in life, including giving back to others. Not only does this help others thrive in their own lives, but it can create a shift in us that sends out a signal to attract abundance. This mindset shift is a win-win!
The idea of growth through release is one cultivated by feng shui and mindfulness experts. The idea is one of reframing, if your end goal is to be kind and help others, the universe will be kind and help you. At its core, this is at the root of Goodwill’s mission to help provide everyone with the opportunity to thrive through learning and the power of work. When someone donates gently used items to Goodwill, those pieces of clothing or home goods are put back into use by others who need them. This feeling of giving will come back to the donor because they’ve made more room in their life for something new.
This is one of the gifts that Goodwill provides to its donors and shoppers who come into the store seeking something special. There is always some amazing find waiting to be spotted on the racks of clothes or shoes. The most recent find like this of mine was a brand new pair of Loeffler Randall Gold Dahlia style heels – one of the trendiest designer styles of the year. Of course, I found this beautiful pair of shoes right after giving away two pairs of shoes that were no longer working for me.
As you think about what it is you want from life right now, don’t forget to consider how helping others might help you get there. Goodwill is a nonprofit organization that helps hundreds of thousands of people advance their careers to support their families and it runs on donations and funds from items purchased in its stores. We can all learn from Goodwill’s strategy to help others and the environment thrive by creating a more circular economy. It’s also likely that we could all use some decluttering of the mind and of our closets to make room for what could come next.
In the spirit of showing random acts of kindness, brainstorm a few ways you can show kindness to the people around you. Maybe it’s stopping to have a conversation with the elderly neighbor you always see on their own. Or it could be bringing a friend flowers or a special treat if you know they are going through something tough. Think about complimenting three people a day on something – and it doesn’t need to be people you know, either. Your actions could make someone’s day and completely shift their energy to become more optimistic. Just imagine what it will do to your own mindset too.
