Helping people every day will make you happier

One of the most gratifying things you can do is help someone else in some way. If you can do this consciously each day, life will be better for everyone. They say that the person who benefits more than the recipient is the giver.

The Giver Benefits More Than The Recipient!

As natural and as good as giving feels, it's not something that just happens each day and we need to make it part of our habit. We need to program it into our actions each day so that we can make this world a better place.

Here are ten creative ways that you can start helping someone else in need every day.

1. Use your smile. Everyone has problems in their life and when we focus on our own problems it's really hard to smile. When we see a person with their head down, or a cashier that seems unhappy for some reason. Just taking a moment and smiling at the person, wishing them a wonderful day. Blessing them in some way will uplift their day. You might say, if this person chooses to be miserable, that's their problem.
   

   A smile a day keeps the sadness away.

   You might be right but that does not mean that you should not be kind to the people. You can help them without going out of your way, just smile and say something nice, you will see that it will make you feel better. You will realize that you have the power to not only improve the attitude of the reactive people around you but your own outlook and attitude as well.
2. Next time you see a street performer, toss a few coins into their jar. Watch how they light up for being acknowledged. They put themselves out there for hours and try to offer the world some value and most people just walk by. When you take a moment and let them know you nice and appreciate them for their effort, they feel the love. That love that you put out there comes right back to you.
3. Next time you exit a building, an elevator or a store, let the person that seems like they are in a rush go first. Hold the door and smile for the person that seems like they are on a mission. Those people that have their mind occupied with their problems can use some kindness from you. The smile gesture that you make for them will get them away from their problems for a moment and you will be helping them.
4. Call up someone who you believe is less fortunate than you and ask them how they are doing. Spend some of your time showing them that you care about them. That itself can be a huge booster for them. You don't need to offer help or do anything for them, the gesture of just asking how they are doing is enough to get them to open up and find a solution within themselves because they now see that someone else cares about them.
5. There are homeless people in every town, they roam the streets and beg for food and money. Make an effort to stop a moment and be kind to them. Maybe give them a bottle of water or something to eat. They are so busy on their mission that they forget to take care of themselves.
   

   Never Judge a person, even if you walked a mile in their shoes...

   Don’t judge them for not working, we never know what psychological problems people have that if we had them how we would be. Never judge a person even if you walked a mile in their shoes.
6. Charity starts at home. We often are so busy helping other people we forget the importance of serving in our own home. Take a moment and help your spouse or partner with whatever they are doing. Ask them how you can be of service to them. If you don't have one, ask your roommate or anyone else that is in your home.
7. For those that drive, take a few moments and ask yourself how you can be more courteous on the road. Don't be as aggressive as you normally are, even when you are in a rush. Let the other person go first. Realize that people are driven by their problems are you are much more fortunate that you can step back and are in the position to give.
8. Send a kind text with a blessing to someone you care about. Tell them that they will have the most amazing day and that only good things will happen to them. Blessings are powerful and we don't tend to use them as much as we can be using them. They actually help other people in many ways. It's not just a spiritual thing, its acknowledgement and that gives people the strength to make it a reality.
9. Older people that have lived their whole live have so much value to add. Yet we don’t see them around as much if we don't spend time with the elderly. They are not as mobile for the most part. Make it part of your week to go visit a nursing home or an elder care facility. Your young energy will bring new life to theses folks, it might be the kindest thing you can do for someone else.
10. Obviously helping someone else is super important, like if you see a mother struggling to go up or down the stairs with a baby stroller or a short person trying to reach something in the supermarket. You want to help them out and you feel good about it. Helping yourself is just as important as helping others. Why? Because we cannot be there for other people if we don’t put your oxygen mask on first. You need to look in the mirror and say kind things to yourself. You need to feed yourself the right foods and make time to realize how amazing you are. Help yourself so you can help others is probably the number one tip.

What are some ideas you have to help someone every day? What value do you see in yourself when you help other people? Let me know in the comments below.

BIO: Joe Apfelbaum is the CEO and co-founder of digital marketing agency Ajax Union. He is a public speaker, certified Google Trainer, and published business author. Joe enjoys speaking and writing about a broad range of business topics in his seminars, webinars and articles. Joe is a member of the Board of Directors of the Entrepreneurs Organization in Brooklyn, a group with over 11,000 CEO’s and a contributing member of the INC Business Owners Council, a community of the fastest growing companies in the United States. Joe is proud of all his accomplishments, but most of all he is proud of his successful foodie wife and beautiful four kids.