One day, when my kids were young, they were all having a bad day. Nothing made them happy.
So I asked them to make a list of ways to make other people happy.
Here’s what they wrote…
8 ways to make someone happy
- Suggest an activity to do together
- Energize people with music and dancing
- Point out something positive
- Work together to solve problems and avoid conflict
- Do a task for others (like making a snack)
- Take action to start an activity like a board game
- Ask how someone is feeling
- Serve ice cream
Notice that every item on their list is an action. Each one starts with a verb.
Right now, there are so many things we CAN’T do. We CAN’T linger in restaurants. We CAN’T travel to exotic places.
But, we CAN take a cue from ideas on this list.
We CAN take tiny actions to help each other avoid paralysis and stay connected.
After writing our list together, my son Asher stuck the list, with this note to the refrigerator… “Please, everyone follow these rules. Be polite and positive, and enjoy this wonderful, wimzickle world.”
My son posted our list on the refrigerator with these instructions.
How are you finding ways to make someone happy and stay connected?
