One of the homework assignments I was given early in my counseling required me to follow the 5-50 rule.  Do something for someone else that takes less than 5 minutes and cost less than 50 cents. (A candy bar usually costs more than 50 cents unless you can find them on sale.) Doesn’t sound like much but here are a few things to try….

Open a door.

Serve a meal to a friend.

Smile.

Put a quarter in a meter that is about to run out.

Make a family members bed.  (Might be a little creepy if you do this for a neighbor.)

Take a newspaper up to your neighbor’s front door.

Feed the birds.

Push a child on a swing.  (Could take longer than 5 minutes if having fun.)

Help a person pick up something they dropped.

This list could go on and on….it is amazing how many things can be done with this criteria 5-50.

Before you start screaming that you can’t do one more thing…..please keep in mind that you only do one a day.  I figured I could do something once a day.  That evening, write what you did and how you felt about it.  By the way, I totally missed the point of the exercise.  I came back depressed about how much more I should be doing.  It was one of the many moments that my counselor had the look of total frustration.  What I was supposed to learn…it feels good to do something for someone else and Dooot doooty doooo….I am a good person.  I finally went with I am a kind person.  I do enjoy doing things for other people.  I love serving the lunches to the little preschoolers at the school where I work.  I feel like a rock star.  I walk in the room with their lunches and they all cheer.  It feels good.

Little changes make a difference….try it.