A few weeks ago when I launched my Facebook page I asked you to share with me and the world something nice you did for somebody else that week.
A few of the public responses (as well as some private e-mails) were along the lines of “Good deeds don’t count if you tell people.”
That is crazy to me and I don’t know who started that rumor. Whoever it is I’d like to give them a talking to. ;)
I think I understand where it might be coming from. If you tell someone you did something nice for someone else it might come across as bragging. Or maybe it will come across like you only did it to tell people what a great person you are. Like maybe your motivations weren’t genuine.
To which is say: who cares?
Brag.
Tell people what a wonderful person you are.
If they have a problem with that then guess what? It’s their problem.
And as far as being genuine: if more people were nice, even if they didn’t feel genuine about it, we’d live in a much happier place. Although I definitely appreciate honesty, I’d much rather someone be nice to me even if they’d rather not be. What about you?
Maybe you get pissed off at someone who cuts in line at the coffee shop. Instead of getting pissed off, you let it go. It’s on them. Maybe you get cut off by a crazy driver on the road. Instead of getting pissed off, you let it be. Maybe you even let some people in front of you even though you’re angry and running late. Not genuine, but it would be a nice thing to do. Maybe when the person in front of you at the grocery store is struggling to find the change you toss them a dollar. Maybe you’ll feel good about it, maybe you won’t. But being nice shouldn’t be kept quiet.
I guess I could quietly give to third world entrepreneurs through Kiva. But maybe, just maybe, by telling you I made a loan it will inspire you to make a loan as well. Which is the reason I set up the RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com Kiva Lending Team. Sure it’s only 15 members strong as of this writing, but 15 members can do a lot more than I can do on my own. So I tell people about it and I link to it. Maybe some people will think I do it to brag. That’s OK. I am bragging. In sum, we have loaned over $11,000 to Third World entrepreneurs this year! That is phenomenal and it is something to brag about. Thank you for that. :)
Scream Your Good Deeds From The Rooftops
What I’m trying to say is, don’t feel like you can’t share your good deeds. If you helped someone, if you’ve done something nice, you don’t have to keep it quiet. It still counts. Maybe it doesn’t count with everybody. But it counts with me. So you’ve got at least one person on your side. Any maybe, just maybe, out of all the people you might (but probably won’t) annoy, you’ll inspire someone to do an extra good deed.
So who are you going to inspire today?