Paying It Forward

I’m sure you have heard of people doing random acts of kindness to absolute strangers especially during these trying times. Why do they do it? It boils down to the concept of paying it forward engendered by a sense of gratitude. Many of us feel that we have been blessed in countless ways, favoured without having to ask for it. So we take this opportunity to share what we have with someone else in order to change their circumstances for the better, hoping that our action also helps to increases the recipient’s sense of personal worth having felt loved and cared for.

Ultimately, the person paying it forward grows as much as the person receiving the act of kindness. Paying it forward is self-affirming; we feel better about ourselves because we’ve improved someone’s life.  This sense of gratitude that promotes paying forward is more than a pleasant feeling; it is also motivating and has long lasting positive consequences.

Research shows that grateful people are more agreeable and less prone to depression. They are generally more optimistic about their own well-being. Apparently being thankful even provides the resolve to make better choices in life. Gratitude strengthens social ties. It cultivates an individual’s sense of interconnectedness. Appreciative people have stronger relationships as they willingly express gratitude to each other and are quicker to forgive. 

Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Paying it forward provides people with a strong sense that they're doing something that matters. And it often kicks off a chain reaction of giving.  The next time you stop to help a stranger, you may be helping not only this one particular individual but potentially many others downstream. And who knows? In the end, maybe what goes around will come around.