My day to day job sees me part of a leadership team that supports over 100 staff who do incredible things for our community. The leadership team that I work alongside, and lean on each day, is equally incredible. We each bring a unique personality and set of skills to the table, and while we have our ups and downs, I’ve yet to see a better team anywhere. Our conversations can range from serious and emotional, to controversial, to downright hilarious, but I felt today’s conversation was blog-worthy.

One of our team members shared a simple, but very impactful story of kindness, selflessness, and generosity. Long story short, it was about a sales transaction that turned into a gift, which then turned into a charitable donation, which ultimately restored someone’s belief that there are good people in this world. We talked about how this small act left all parties and even a bystander feeling better about themselves, and who knows how many people benefitted from the charitable donation. We started thinking about how good deeds (and bad ones too) will be repaid through karma, but there was a catch. There are times when people do their best to be kind, support others, and perform good deeds, but they never seem to find good karma landing on their lap. Is it possible that karma is just made up to give people hope? I believe there’s more to it than that, but sure. Is it possible that karma only comes once in a blue moon, and we have to be patient while we wait for it? Possibly. Is it possible that karma is built unnoticeably into each day and if it weren’t for it our life would be completely different? The thought of this intrigued me – let’s have a deeper look.

“Over the long term you’ll feel good knowing you were kind and generous because you wanted to be”

We’ve all seen the social media reels of seemingly generous people donating food or money to those less fortunate, and recording the entire transaction. They come across as kind and generous, and they likely are, but the real reason for their post was to reach an audience, gain followers, and monetize their accounts. It’s not all bad, though. These types of posts are uplifting and might encourage others to act the same way, but let’s be clear that most influencers are doing these types of things to make money. Have you ever seen a GoFundMe or other fundraising effort online? Visit the link and you’ll likely find dozens, if not hundreds of people publicly posting their donations for a good cause. It’s nice to see this type of generosity and caring, but it works so well because people feel good about seeing their name posted publicly next to their donation amount. There’s nothing wrong with this, and it’s true that it feels good to be recognized for our kindness and generosity, but try giving without the public recognition – you won’t get the immediate, albeit short lived satisfaction and pride, but over the long term you’ll feel good knowing that you were kind and generous because you wanted to be, without external factors like public recognition. This is not a criticism of GoFundMe or similar platforms. They have found a way to make a profit while facilitating the movement of money to very deserving causes – it’s a win, win, but are there more inconspicuous ways.

Kindness and generosity don’t need to include a transaction of goods, money, or services. Kindness and generosity can be as simple as lending an ear, sharing a smile, or checking in when someone needs help. Actions don’t need to be public or flashy, but they need to come naturally and be sincere – believe me, the person on the receiving end will know when we aren’t being sincere. Think about a normal day. Do you make eye contact and smile when you walk by people, or do you duck your head and pretend you’re the only one on earth? Do you check in with friends, colleagues, and peers for no reason, or do you wait until there are signs that they are struggling before asking if they’re okay? Do you thank those around you for their efforts, acknowledging them for accomplishments big or small, or do you carry on and assume they know how much you appreciate them? In a world of hundreds of emails per week I recently heard a leader recommend that people stop sending “thank you” emails as responses, as it would reduce the overall number of emails sent/received. The premise was that we could all assume that the other person knows we appreciate the email, and not have to respond. While this is correct, and will reduce the number of emails sent/received, it goes against the very basics of kindness we learned when we were children – say THANK YOU! Any productivity gained by this advice would surely be lost by lower employee satisfaction, teamwork, and sense of appreciation. Whatever you do, please ignore this advice and never stop saying thank you!

“Let’s stop holding out for the big wins and grand prize…”

So, we can be generous without publicly showing it. We can be kind through simple actions and acknowledgement. We can do good and improve the lives of those around us because it feels good, not because it looks good. But, when does karma come our way? There will be times in our lives when something great happens, and we might be able to attribute it to good karma paying us back for our good actions. There will still be bad things that happen, and while there may be times when it seems like their outweigh the good things, hopefully better times are on the way. Is it possible, though, that karma doesn’t have to come in the form of a winning lottery ticket, a promotion at work, or a sunny day on your birthday? Could karma come far less conspicuously but more consistently, shaping our day to day lives without us even knowing it? I hope my team member was right about this, and I hope it’s true for all of those who choose to make kindness and generosity part of their day. Let’s stop holding out for the big wins, and the grand prize, and accept that good deeds are worth it, regardless of whether we can see the reward or not. The reward is knowing we did the right things. The reward is knowing we made someone else’s day brighter, and in turn, our own. The reward is reminding others that there are still good people out there – never forget this one. I will continue to appreciate the laughs, the debates, the occasional confrontation, but most certainly the intrigue brought on by some of the conversations had between my colleagues and I. To them, and others who inspire this blog, thank you. There’s those two simple words again – THANK YOU – that wasn’t so hard, was it?