To improve yourself, do something for someone else.

On Monday I was downtown just to transfer from one bus to another and on the way to the other bus stop there was a gentleman holding a sign. This is fairly common in the downtown area with most signs explaining why they need your money, but this one was different.

He was holding a “FREE HUGS” sign. Now I’ve see these pop up from time to time and honestly never even had the urge to go up to them to redeem the offer.
However, I wasn’t in the greatest of moods and felt like I could use a hug… but a hug from a complete stranger?

I took a big gulp, walked up to him and said “I could use one of those”. The hug was fantastic. It was long, deep and connected. I could feel that he genuinely wanted to spread love and it lifted my spirits. After the exchange HE said thank you, but in a way that made me feel like he needed the hug more than I did.

“To improve yourself, do something for someone else.”

I challenge you to live out this statement today. One way that you can do this is by participating in #PositiveThurs on twitter. Write a positive/happy tweet, maybe even direct it @ someone. Include the hashtag so others can follow the “stream of love” and you’ll also be featured in my Storify post tomorrow.

Reach out to someone, or just remain positive today. It will not only do wonders for them, but for you as well.