By now, you know my love of all things coffee, and in particular, all things Starbucks coffee. If you're a new reader, look at these two posts - they will help you have a tremendous understanding of my coffee addiction. Disaster & Sadness or you could even look at my magical Starbucks video, if you like.
I came into the office one morning a week or two ago and was getting some of my list done, when one of my guys walked in and said, “Hey, I have something for you.” He turned and handed me a cup of the Bucks (again, rookies cannot use that word for Starbucks). He knew I liked their coffee, and my small city doesn’t have a Starbucks, while his does. He even paid attention to the type of coffee that I liked and made sure to have it set like I would enjoy it. He didn’t spend a ton on it and it wasn’t a huge thing, but it made my day and I enjoyed it.
I came into the office one morning a week or two ago and was getting some of my list done, when one of my guys walked in and said, “Hey, I have something for you.” He turned and handed me a cup of the Bucks (again, rookies cannot use that word for Starbucks). He knew I liked their coffee, and my small city doesn’t have a Starbucks, while his does. He even paid attention to the type of coffee that I liked and made sure to have it set like I would enjoy it. He didn’t spend a ton on it and it wasn’t a huge thing, but it made my day and I enjoyed it.
There are many times we can show those little thoughtfulnesses (love to say that word - try it 10 times quick) and be a huge benefit to someone else. When you help a person carry a large load, when you open a door for someone, when you write a quick note or email to a friend (or an acquaintance - you would be shocked at the impact), when you wash the dishes for your wife (did I just say that? Hope my wife doesn’t read this post!), when you take your child out for a Sonic drink or some fast food, when you buy your boss something (without having an ulterior motive, although it can help your ulterior motive), when you give a $5 gift card to a young person that needs some encouragement, when you start a conversation in the elevator. There are tons of small ways to impact those around you.
I know you have the ability to be thoughtful, but let me tell you, it takes hard work. You have to plan thoughtfulness, because most of us have a lot of “us” to focus on and we forget about everyone else, especially if you are the laser pointer personality type, like me. You may need to set reminders that help you remember (now isn't that what a reminder is supposed to do - little redundant, John Madden) to do a thoughtful deed. Once you start doing them, keep the reminders going, but you will see that they become habit forming and you start to create great impact opportunities in your life.
Here’s the cool part! After you impact, you will not only see the other person benefited, but you will reap rewards too. Sometimes you may have a thoughtful act returned to you, sometimes it will be a nice thank-you and, best of all, you may see your thoughtfulness impact someone to go on to do greater things than they were before you impacted them. Try it today (make that, everyday)!
Lessons Learned: Little things in life go a long way (I probably stole that from someone - sorry). Yes that is my own coffee cup - aren't you envious? Whoops, this isn't the question section - blogging is so hard...
Thoughts: What little thoughtful thing did you do today? Share some ideas of ways to be thoughtful with us.
