Reporting in on 50 Acts of Kindness for my 50th Birthday

Back in April I made a goal to perform 50 acts of kindness in celebration of my 50th birthday. Along the way, I changed a few of the items on the original list. Here are the things I did, and any comments/impressions/things I learned from those acts:

• Participate in the Neighborhood Spring Clean … this was a lot of fun actually. My wife and son came along and there were enough neighbors participating that we made minutes work of the largest piles of yard debris.
• Buy a gift card for the next person in line at the checkout … I have to admit, this one was uncomfortable.
• Make a homemade treat for someone … easy, I love to bake.
• Post a 5-star review for a small local business you’ve visited … an easy task for a business that deserved it.
• Make a basket with treats/snacks for the office staff and teachers at school … this was fun to put together.
• Write a positive review for a book you like … also easy, authors need all the help they can get.
• Celebrate someone awesome on social media … it was nice to point out someone I think is pretty great.
• Feed the ducks at the pond … as it was Spring, the ducks weren’t all that interested in our bread. Oh well.
• Leave “You Rock” rocks on doorsteps … we noticed that some of these stayed on the doorsteps we left them on for a long time. Next time I will not use a sharpie (they fade in the sun), but paint pens.
• Surprise someone with homemade bread … I hope they liked it (no comment).
• Let someone go in front of you in line … this was uncomfortable, but I finally found someone who looked like they needed to get going.
• Help my son with his story stand … we did it! He earned some ‘adventure fund’ money.
• Donate to the thrift store … we have so much stuff just sitting around gathering dust that this hardly feels like service.
• Host a campfire sing-along … did it. I’d hoped more people would come, but we had a few.
• Arrange a hymn tune and post as a freebie on UkulelePlay.com … got it done.
• Take Grandma on a picnic for the fourth of July … yes, and she really did seem to enjoy getting out into the canyon, even if her mobility makes me worry she’s going to trip and break something … she had my arm all the way to the picnic table though.
• Plant lavender in the garden for Grandma … this took me a lot longer than I planned, but I finally found some lavender on clearance and was able to buy a bunch of plants.
• Donate flowers at the care center … dropped off.
• Help my son with his plant stand … yep, more money for his ‘adventure fund.’
• Give a free performance for the elderly … did this with my wife and son, including our little play of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. The elders at the two care centers seemed to enjoy it.
• Leave funny cards with handwritten jokes at a care center … combined this with the above performance.
• Donate craft packs for the elderly at a care center … ditto.
• Donate fun books to a care center … ditto ditto.
• Leave a flowering plant and mysterious card on someone’s doorstep you don’t know … accomplished.
• Pickup trash in your neighborhood … simple as taking a walk.
• Pickup trash at the park … we really had to look to find trash at the park in our neighborhood, but we did find a few scraps.
• Buy a flower for the cashier at the grocery store … I got her a gift card instead of a flower, but her face really lit up when we gave it to her (you could tell it was a rough day).
• Pickup trash on a trail … again, we really had to look, but in the end we found some and it has made us more aware on subsequent hikes.
• Send ‘good’ chocolate to a teacher … our son had a great teacher this year, so this was a fun one to do.
• Spread Kindness Bingo Cards … did it.
• Leave a single flower on a stranger’s car in the parking lot … done.
• Donate to the food pantry … easy to pick some things out of storage and drop them off.
• Make giveaway bags for the homeless and store in car to give out … done.
• Tape microwave popcorn packets on Red Box … fun.
• Give a neighbor a garden plant you started … an investment in time, but we were already growing plants for our garden and my son’s plant stand, so this was also easy.
• Hide a gift card in a book at the library … I found this one to be amusing and spoke to my inner clown as we put it in a book on home economics.
• Spread a roll of lucky pennies through the parking lot … I’ve never been one to throw money about, so this was pretty fun and my son got a big kick out of helping.
• Leave a snack pack for the mail carrier … done.
• Fill a bird feeder … done.
• Leave bubbles at the park on the benches marked ‘for you’ … another fun one.
• Make a kindness bingo sheet game to share on ElfAlliance.com … done.
• Post a free hymn arrangement on Choirworks.com … Brother James Air.
• Take a care basket to the fire station … done.
• Take a care basket to the police station … done
• Leave your server a big tip … honestly, things have been tight, so this one hurt more than felt good, but mission accomplished.
• Read a book on kindness and share notes … The Rabbit Effect.
• Read a book on service and share notes … Human Kind.
• Teach a free Christmas carol class … taught carols for three weeks in July.
• Organize a free Christmas in July event … it happened.
• Perform at another assisted living … we did it.

So, what did I learn from all this activity over the last three months?

• Big goals can be stressful, but I’m glad I followed through (with my family). Some of the time-consuming activities didn’t necessarily bring greater rewards for us or those we tried to serve (only 23 people came to the Christmas in July event we put on for free, but took dozens of hours to prep for – don’t feel bad about it, but I’m not ecstatic over it either).
• If your budget is tight, service with a high price tag can be really stressful. I didn’t know how much flowers were going to cost when I adopted those items on my list, so I’d suggest being aware of how much a goal is going to cost before committing to it.
• Dropping things off anonymously can be great or can feel hollow depending on your attitude at the moment. Hopefully all those things boosted someone else’s day, regardless.
• Surprising people in person where you can see their reaction gives quite the boost, not only to you, but to the person you’re doing something for. While some service is better done anonymously, don’t underestimate the effect a kind face and warm greeting can do for someone.
• I think giving anonymously is best when you know the person really needs help or a lift and you don’t want them to feel beholden.

Biggest takeaway? ‘Random’ acts of kindness are less-fulfilling all-around than ‘intentional’ acts of kindness. Serving in well-thought-out ways that leverage your greatest strengths are going to have greater impact for those being served and bring you more joy as the one giving service. But, it doesn’t hurt to keep your eyes open and be kind when the opportunity arises.