Acts of kindness and spreading good energy will absolutely bring you immense joy and happiness and will lift your spirits and change your mood instantly. An act of kindness given freely with absolutely no expectation for anything in return can truly change another person’s day as well as your own. Here are 10 simple ways that you can spread good energy and lift your mood instantly. In helping someone, you will experience mood boosters for yourself.

1. Pay attention

The universe is constantly presenting us with opportunities to be kind. Are you paying attention to these mood boosters? From assisting someone with carrying groceries, to standing back and opening doors, to allowing someone to go before you in a queue, there are events occurring around you and in front of you that will offer you the opportunity to lift yourself up as well as someone else. In today’s busy world, practicing courtesy has gone by the wayside. Start paying attention to who is around you. Expand your energy out and shower kindness to the people you encounter over the course of your day. A single act of kindness sends out a blast of positive energy that spreads further than you could ever imagine.

2. Pay it forward

Practice random acts of kindness as often as you can. For example – Pay for a stranger’s coffee if you have spare change. Cook a meal for someone who is struggling and needs a hand. Send someone a beautiful hand written letter – YES handwritten! The art of hand writing a beautiful letter has been replaced with emailing and texting so take the time to create a personal letter to let someone know how important they are to you. Wash someone’s car. Clean someone’s house. Tidy up someone’s garden. Buy someone flowers. I could keep going with this list as there are just so many ways to pay it forward. Giving your time, your energy or a small gift can lift someone’s spirits and warm someone’s heart as well as your own.

3. Be compassionate

Practice compassion with everyone. When someone is struggling, if you really listen to them and offer words of support and encouragement, you will naturally shine light in what is often a dark place. Having a positive, compassionate, and forgiving outlook will recharge your soul and provide you with mood boosters.

4. Reconnect

Take the time to really connect with your community. When you step outside and start engaging with the people around you, sharing their stories and embracing what they are contributing to the world, you will create all sorts of positive emotions. Take the time as well to reconnect with old friends who you have lost touch with and make sure you check up on people who may be experiencing hard times. I can assure you, the energy exchanged between you and someone else when you reconnect is powerful.

5. Volunteer

Volunteering is an investment into your community as well as the people who live in it. Investing pretty much always offers a return right? So imagine the return you will get when you volunteer your time and energy and focus on having a positive impact on someone else’s life instead of your own.

6. Listen

Make someone else feel valued by listening. When you next meet with someone, turn off your mobile phone and put it away. Give them your undivided attention. Be mindful, present, and engaged and really take in the whole conversation without the distractions.

7. Create your own movement

Inspire people around you to follow your lead. Maybe there is an opportunity for you to create a community event or activity that could change lives for the better. Recruit like-minded people and find a way to share some positive action in your community. Nothing is more uplifting than throwing yourself into a project that is based on giving from the heart.

8. Give genuine compliments and smile

Take the time to give a genuine compliment to someone in your circle. Expressing a real, heartfelt compliment to someone connects and creates a bond of pure uplifting energy between you and the recipient. And while you are at it, smile more. Smiling instantly changes your mood. It is like flicking the on switch to feeling happy. Smiling has all sorts of positive effects on your body and when you smile at another person, that feel good energy is nothing short of contagious.

9. Shine your light

Spread good energy and don’t be afraid to really be yourself. Have you ever met someone who “lights up a room”? They energize everyone around them with their positive attitude. You can choose to uplift and inspire people and in return you will be rewarded with even more positive energy and fuel for your soul.  Remember, you do not need anyone’s approval to be yourself. Now more than ever we need more unique, authentic, people willing to shine their light on the world.

10. Repeat the above list daily

Keep your eyes and your heart open and embrace the opportunity to uplift someone else. We can all make a difference and share more joy and more positive energy with the world. For every act of kindness you do, you give out an abundance of warm, uplifting energy to the universe. There is no act too small or too big. Even the simplest of gestures can affect many lives for the better. The healing powers of kindness are plentiful and I implore you to open up your heart and give generously to be kind and courteous. It will lift your spirits, change your life, and the lives of so many around you. Featured photo credit: Ed Gregory via stokpic.com