imagesSometimes it feels like a losing battle.  Everywhere you turn you’re faced with deadly viruses, a polarized society, a void in leadership, integrity, and personal responsibility.  Add in a good measure of frustration, lack of civility, and rudeness peppered with a lack of time and loss of purpose and you’ve got a recipe for hopelessness.

 

After all, what can one person do?  Here are ten things you can do today to make the world a better place:

 

1.     Smile and make the world a better place.  According to experts, smiling improves your mood and health and lengthens your life.  Best of all, smiles are contagious which means other people will be getting the benefits of your smile when they naturally smile in response. That means you’ll be looking at more smiling people and you’ll be smiling more too.  Source: http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongbeauty/tp/smiling.htm

 

2.     Slow down and make the world a better place.  Too often we miss the beautiful little things that give life balance because we’re too rushed.  Stop to smell the flowers, see the sights, and breathe.  Commit to once a day stopping and breathing deeply for ten seconds.  Go ahead, close your eyes and take ten deep breaths.  You’ll be pumping brain clearing oxygen into your bloodstream and reinvigorating all your senses.  According to Slow life expert Jacqui Mott, changing your pace will boost your health.  Source: http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/sex+relationships/wellbeing/slow+down+and+enjoy+life,18201

 

3.     Read something inspirational and make the world a better place.  Let’s face it, we have all the negative material we need and it is essential to fill your soul with positive inspiration. Begin your day with something uplifting and inspirational and you’ll be more positive all day long.  This is best done in the morning to set the stage for the day but you can read inspiration anytime.  Everyone has the time to be inspired, you just need to commit to it.  Need some ideas?  http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/top-10-motivational-books-of-all-time.html  I chose to add The Bible to number 1.

 

4.     Make one just because call and make the world a better place.  SendOutCards.com founder Kody Bateman calls them “promptings”.  They are those momentary messages we all get that we often fail to act upon.  He founded SendOutCards.com to help people become card senders (if there was room, send a card would be on this list too).  But perhaps as important is to make a call to someone just because you’ve been thinking of him or her.  Make it a point to daily make one call to someone just because.  Need ideas? Try that electronic leash in your pocket that seems to butt-dial the wrong person at the wrong time.  Pull it out and scroll through the contacts.  Push call.

 

5.     Listen more than you talk to make the world a better place.  Everyone wants to have their say, but what they really want is to be heard.  Listening to people is different from hearing them but the first step is to listen more and talk less.  When you listen more than you talk you’ll likely hear more new ideas since the voice you’ll hear won’t be yours as often.  Master “hearing” and you’ll understand people better.  Understanding leads to empathy and an empathetic world is a better world. Here are some tips on being a better listener: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-skills.html

 

6.     Look people in the eye and make the world a better place.  The eyes are the window to the soul and a key indicator you are paying attention to someone.  Give people your full attention by looking into their eyes.  When you do you’ll become a better listener (Tip #5) and you’ll be on your way to better understanding.  When you understand more you’ll have more wisdom.  Everyone could use more wisdom.  Tips on eye contact can be found here: http://www.succeedsocially.com/eyecontact

 

7.     Have a dream and make the world a better place.  Martin Luther King had a dream.  You should too.  Dreams give us something to strive for, something to wish for, something to hope for.  Dreams give us direction and are essential to a powerful purpose. Sometimes our world seems hopeless but that’s because we’ve forgotten how to dream.  Dreams require belief and belief is essential to life.  Hear about the power of dreams in the “original” happy song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBWjNlBko70

 

8.     Be an encourager and make the world a better place.  Everyone needs a lift now and again.  Commit yourself to being the person people go to when they wish to feel better.  Be the doctor of self-expectancy.  When you see someone you know should be expecting more and is capable of more, give them an uplifting comment or compliment to refocus their efforts.  Sometimes we just need that one bit of encouragement to get through the wall.  Everyone needs to know there is someone who believes in them.  Be that person.  Read these great ideas on encouragement: http://livingontheedge.org/broadcast/how-to-become-an-awesome-encourager-part-1/daily-radio#.VE-uh1PF8Zc

 

9.     Take a media cleanse (including social media) and make the world a better place.  Take one day and commit to not watching any news, reading the paper, or going on Facebook (remember just ten short years ago Facebook didn’t exist).  Give your brain a day off from all the negativity and you’ll feel better.  If something really important happens you’ll hear about it.  You don’t need to be in the know as much as you are and you’ll find most of what you get from the media is just chewing gum for the brain.  Take a rest, clear your mind to focus on good things.  Read about a media detox in this article (about half way down) https://experiencelife.com/article/media-diet-makeover/

 

10. Decide you are happy and act as if you are to make the world a better place.  From Proverbs 23:7 to James Allen’s As A Man Thinketh (http://jamesallen.wwwhubs.com/think.htm) the truth is we become what we think about.  Think about being happy.  Tell others you’re happy even when you may not be.  People have a tendency to mirror each other.   You aren’t helping anyone by telling them you aren’t happy so pass on happiness even when you aren’t experiencing it.  By doing so you’ll likely be talking to happy people all the time and that will make you happy too!