Pay It Forward

October 11, 2013

Pay It Forward
Today is one of those Fridays where I really want to say (multiple times) thank god it’s Friday. My week wasn’t necessarily horrible but I felt a little like a fish swimming upstream. I’ve been playing catch up since taking time off for our honeymoon and while I’m almost there, I still have a giant list of to-dos and most importantly tackling thank-you notes to our friends and family. I’ve been a bit of a task master lately because of it, trying to get everything done quickly. As a result I grew a little impatient this week and the never-ending to-do list got the best of me. I was becoming unfriendly and annoyed when others weren’t at my pace. I was at the worst of my state while standing in line at FedEx when the woman behind me complimented me on my shoes. We started chatting about the necessity of having multiple shoe options and ended up having a good laugh. Before I knew it I was at the front of the line. I realized after meeting her what a grouch I had been lately and decided to change my attitude. Little did she know she had stopped me in my tracks and made me realize being crazed wasn’t necessary. The next morning I found myself in line again for a coffee and noticed an impatient customer ahead of me. Usually I’d just watch and avoid, but I this time I thought I’d pay it forward. So I complimented her in hopes of having the same effect. I managed to make my new friend smile and we chit chatted all the way until we reached the register. Success.

 This weekend, I double dog dare you to try it out yourself. I found that the more I started letting the compliments out instead of avoiding interaction and holding them in the happier I felt.

image via madewell