Last Monday I was feeling pretty blech when I woke up. All three of my kids were home sick, quarantined in their rooms so as not to share the various viruses in our petri-dish of a house; Current political events were hanging heavy in the air; Chicagoland had not seen sun in over two weeks and I was feeling the full effects. Monday morning I had a choice: I could either feel shitty and focus on the stuff that was making me feel down or set my intentions for the week as I always do on Mondays.
I got out my laptop and wrote my usual Monday morning post, focusing on all of the things I wanted to accomplish for the week. I noticed that even that small act – that small shift – made me a little more optimistic. How fortunate that I was able to be home with my 
sick kids. How lucky to have a fridge full of fresh food so I could still plan and prepare healthy meals. How grateful that I could still participate in rehearsal via Facetime (now, THAT was interesting to say the least). Fascinating what a shift in mindset and energy can accomplish.
I decided there was no reason that I could not care for myself while caring for my kids, so I threw a Curlsmith deep 
conditioning treatment in my hair and some Arbonne eye gels on my face. Hmm…energy lifted a little bit more…self-care is NO JOKE, friends. Still futzing on my laptop, I read an update about a friend of mine who is going through an unfathomable time in her life, having just delivered her third baby while also going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. It dawned on me that I am connected to thousands of moms on Facebook, so I shared her fundraising page on one of the groups. The response from other moms was overwhelming – words of love, support, encouragement, and also several donations, poured in. My heart nearly exploded from the kindness of strangers.
I am a firm believer that we are all connected on the planet through energy. Since I was feeling so much better after just a few small acts of positivity, I decided to survey other women to find out what small acts of 
kindness they like to do in order to put good energy into the universe. I wasn’t sure what the response would be and then, HOLY SHIT! Comments came flooding in and I could FEEL the energy bursting off the page. Not only did women offer their own suggestions, but dialogues were started, energy sparked, and the ideas exploded from there. It was beautiful. THANK YOU to all who contributed!
Here is a compiled list (I sorted it into categories for your reading convenience and pleasure…downloadable version available at the bottom of the post) of the many small ways we can all put good energy into the world to counteract the negative energy that so often pushes us down:
The Power of Words
Compliment someone trying on clothes
Compliment a stranger out loud when you think something kind in your head
Send a thank you text long after a gift when you are using the gift
Say hi as you walk by a stranger
Ask employees how they are doing
Call your parents just to say hi
Tell someone you are thinking of them
Email or tell a manager if an employee did a great job
Give specific compliments
Tell a stranger they are doing a great job with their children
Thank military for their service
Tell a friend you love them
Tell a friend they are enough
Tell a struggling friend you know they are doing their best
Thank a construction worker
Say please and thank you
Write a thank you note and send it in the mail
Thank the person filling your water glass at the restaurant
Ask people for names
Use names when thanking someone who has helped you
Leave positive reviews
Text a friend with a new baby from the store to see if they need anything
Say “bless you” when someone sneezes
Acknowledge homeless people with eye contact and a hello
Learn names of the employees you interact with on a regular basis
Say “I’m sorry” when you mean it
Say “good morning” to the person taking your coffee order
Send a birthday card in the mail
Let parents know when their child has done something kind or courteous
Say hi to a child or adult with special needs instead of looking away
Spare a Moment
Open a door for someone
Smile when you hold the door open
Offer to help an older person put groceries in their car
Let someone go before you in line with fewer items
Shovel snow for a neighbor and/or scrape their car
Put your grocery cart away
Offer to put someone else’s cart away
Decorate the front door of a new neighbor to welcome them
Let someone go before you at the doctor if they seem sicker than you
Walk someone’s newspaper up to the porch
Take a cart from the corral instead of taking a new one from the store
Pick up trash if you see it on the ground
Offer the mail carrier or UPS person a snack or water
Send cards to kids in hospital or seniors at assisted living
Share your gifts/talents with the world
Foster a shelter dog
Let someone go ahead in line who is struggling with a crying baby or an antsy toddler
Give your leftovers to a homeless people
Volunteer
Help someone reach an item on a high shelf
Organize carpool
Offer to babysit a new mom’s baby for free
Visit an elderly neighbor
Bake cookies for police and fire department
Make dinner for someone in need
Smile at the salesperson helping you
Put your phone away at the cash register
Help pick up something if you see them dropped
Give up your seat on public transportation
Hold the elevator door even if it means waiting a few extra seconds
Move aside to let someone walk by on the sidewalk
Smile at children or adults with special needs
Make art
If you have a Few Extra Dollars to Spare
Pay for coffee behind you (this was a VERY popular suggestion)
Send flowers to a friend
Buy a $10 gift card at Target or grocery store and ask cashier to use it for someone else who needs it
Tip an extra $1-2 on top of what you were planning (may not seem like a lot, but it could change the server’s night if everyone did this)
Shop Buy One-Get One Free sales and donate the free items to an organization
Use Amazon Smile while shopping
Pay for a stranger’s meal who is celebrating a special event
Drop off feminine hygiene products or adult leak protection at a local organization
Tip delivery drivers
Pay for the meal of military personnel
Drop off flowers for a neighbor
Take an elderly neighbor to dinner
Buy coffee for the police offer at the coffee shop
Send a gift from a stranger’s baby or wedding registry
Kindness of the Road
Let people merge into your lane
Don’t tailgate
Stop at crosswalks (it’s a law, but I see people ignore pedestrians all the time)
Wave when someone lets you merge
Don’t block cross streets when you are stopped
It is so easy to focus on the terrible things happening around us that we often forget the power in a smile, an open door, or a 
compliment. Energy is real. We feel it. We need it. We can change the vibrations around us. If we each start the day with the intention of putting good energy into the universe, we will all start to notice the change. It becomes easier to let the insignificant stuff go as we look toward the next good deed. The coolest part?? It TOTALLY snowballs!!! When someone starts a chain of paying for the person behind them in the Starbucks drive-thru, it often lasts for hours. I asked the server at Big Bowl to please thank the cook for making my absurdly picky order and when she brought the check, she paid me a lovely compliment.
A word to the wise: negative energy also snowballs. It is up to you, to me, to all of us, to decide what kind of energy we are putting into the world. It doesn’t have to be big, as you can see by this beautiful list put together by so many incredible women. It just needs to be kind and authentic. I promise you will feel the shift.
I would love to hear about a shift in your day after putting out good energy or other ideas you have to contribute to the list.
For a downloadable version of the Good Energy List, click here: Good Energy List
