30 Ideas of random acts of kindness for my 30th birthday.
Embroidered Jacket | Legging (Perfect for pregnancy and post pregnancy) | Sunglasses | Purse
Let me just preface this by saying, I hesitated writing this post because I didn’t want it to come across as “bragging” or anything of that nature. I normally think you should just be kind because it’s the right thing to do, and not for selfish intentions.I’m not by any means looking for a pat on the back or a good job out of this. However, I decided to share, because as a blogger that’s what I do is open up my life. Also, I’ve just seen so much negativity everywhere lately that I thought throwing some positiveness out there might encourage someone else to do the same. This sort of thing really has a ripple effect, and if everyone takes the time to just do one that could really have a great impact on a ton of people! Kindness cultivates kindness.
So I had seen this somewhere before (I think Pinterest) and had it in the back of my mind. I then saw so many of my friends taking lavish trips and doing all these big dinners, surprise theme parties, and other amazing things for their 30th birthday. Not going to lie, I wanted to follow suit! Thoughts of Italy, Malibu and wild nights on the town came to mind. But I am 39 and a half weeks pregnant. Not in the cards for me.
Hitting a milestone birthday really makes you self reflect. I was selfish in my early 20’s and competitive. It was a time in my life when I was cheering in the NBA and then the NFL and even though I made some great friends in that period, in was a very different world than the one I’m in now. It was hard to just be happy for your friends without being jealous of what they were doing or getting. A lot of the “but why not me?” thoughts were going on. These days I’ve learned that 1) you should only want the absolute best for your friends without any “and, if’s or but’s”. If you don’t… they aren’t truly your friend. So I hope all of my friends get the lavish vacas, big parties, etc. They deserve it 2) you aren’t the only person in the world. It’s more important to be kind to others.
This is the train of thought that made me think this would be the perfect birthday idea!
Being so very preggo, I had to prep most of these a couple days before and spread them out. I just don’t have it in me to go out and about all day. Here is my random acts of kindness list. Please use any of these ideas that you think would be a good fit to spread some kindness! Remember, you don’t have to do big profound deeds to make a difference. It’s all about the little things.
30 RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS
1. Write a letter to a few friends and snail mail them. Let them know what they mean to you!
2. Attach some gift cards to a note, and leave it on unsuspecting cars at the grocery store.
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3. Give a stranger a compliment. (I’m socially awkward so this was actually a hard one for me. I typically am never the first person to initiate a conversation, but I made a point to do it several times! Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is a good thing.)
4. Clean out your closet, and donate clothes. A general rule is if you haven’t worn it in six months, donate! If you live in the Nashville area consider giving to GraceWorks Ministries.
5. Fill the gumball, toy, candy machines with quarters for the next kids that go to use it.
6. Local humane societies are always in need of donations. We brought old blankets and paper towels. Even better if you volunteer time to walk the dogs. (I would have loved to do this, but was in a lot of pain this day, so we just dropped off the goods. Next time!)
7.Buy the person behind you in line coffee. I just gave the cashier $40 and told her to use it as long as it could go. We went to The Well Coffeehouse because it is mission based. They donate to people in need all over the world. Double win!
8.Drop a coffee off to an unsuspecting friend.
9. Bring flowers to a local nursing home, and tell the caregivers to give them to some residents that need a pick me up. Kroger always has flowers on sale! I had extra glasses, so we were able to get several for the price of one at a flower shop.
10. Overtip. The one thing I did want to do for myself was get a pedicure. The heat in the south in mid- July mixed with a 9 month preggo is not a great mix. Thanks to my friend Ashley who treated me to this, and also left the BIG tip in honor of my project! You can do this at a restaurant too. Tip the price of the bill.
11. Fill a bag of necessities and give to someone homeless. (We filled a large plastic bag with toothbrush, toothpaste, bottled water, deodorant, etc.)
12. Park your car farther away from the store, and walk. Not only do you get a little exercise, but it leaves a prime spot for someone who may really need it. (See it really is the littliest things that can make a difference!)
13. Send a gift to a friend, or family member. (I tripled up on this one for good measure!)
14. Smile at everyone you see.
15. Let someone go in front of you in line. (At the coffee shop, grocery store, etc.)
16. Fill quarters in someones parking meter. (I had this on my list, but we never saw in any parking meters. We did this and then realized the parking meters were to charity. So this was a double win too!
17. Hold open the door for people.
18. Call a grandparent. (This made my grandmother’s day! She has dementia and called me back several times, forgetting that I had called, but saying I came across her mind.)
19. Take the day to not say a single complaint. (Ok, this one was actually the hardest for me. So. much. pain. these last few days.. but I made it!)
20. Send out a reconnect text to an old friend.
21. Let someone know they are doing a great job at their job. (Example the barista…)
22. Write a letter to your significant other saying things you love about them and put it in an unsuspecting place for them to find. (My husband does this for me before he leaves for trips, and it always makes my day. He has left them on the steps, in the refrigerator etc. So I just copied his idea back to him. HA! He still hasn’t found it…)
23. Push all the grocery carts back to the cart corral.
24. Place a thank you note in treat for the mailman/woman. (I did this, but we have a different one on Saturday than the rest of the week, so I’ll re-do on Monday for our normal one.)
25. My mom and sister are both teachers. In honor of them I donated to DonorsChoose. This is such an amazing organization. They connect classrooms that are in desperate need with deserving donations. You can filter to search for something specific, or they have the most urgent needs on the homepage. I put in Nashville, TN and Tom’s is currently doubling donations on several of the ones there!
26. Write great reviews on someones yelp or facebook that you really appreciate. Everyone is quick to write a negative review, so it’s nice to write some positive ones to show appreciation.
27. Pay for the person behind you in a drive-thru line. I typically don’t eat fast food, but I had a moment of weakness this week and went to Chik-fil-A.
28. Take the survey at the end of the receipt and give a rave review on service. We had to go to the post office to get stamps and mail out the gifts. They always ask to fill out the survey, and I normally don’t take the time to do so. This was the perfect time!
29. Donate to a food pantry. I asked a couple friends to help with this one. They each gave me a few things and I drove it up there so the donation was a little bigger. This was they were able to help and not have to drive to the bank as well.
30. Give an extra large gift to someone for a birthday or holiday. My sister’s birthday was a few days ago and she’s moving across the country this week. I got her a major splurge present that I know she wouldn’t get herself. (I can’t reveal just yet what it was because she won’t get it for a couple more days..)
Is there a random act of kindness you like to do? I had so much fun doing this I would love to hear ideas so I can incorporate them more into my life.
Big thanks to my friends that came along for parts of the day, and did some of these with me. It made my day so much better. Also, a friend of mine surprised me from coming in town from St.Louis and was nice enough to drive all this way just to participate and hang in comfy clothes at the house. Of course my husband still spoiled me, because that’s just what he does.
How amazing were these cupcakes and sugar cookie squash blossom necklace he got me?!
Anyway, I think 30 is going to be just fine. Hope ya’ll have a great week!
