Yesterday on the radio, the hosts gave the advice to try and “overwhelm someone with kindness.” This got me thinking, how would I even do such a thing? One listener called in and gave an example, as it happened to her.

My boss asked if I had been able to get my flat tire plugged yet. When he found out that I hadn’t, I had to wait until my paycheck later in the week, he took my car to the tire service on his lunch break. When I came out after work, I discovered that I had four new tires!

What an amazing story! I find that it is far harder to remember to look for opportunities to help someone than it is to actually do it.

While in Texas over Christmas break, my wife and I were in the store. We ended up in line behind a woman with a full cart, while we waited to purchase our single item. As she was finishing, the woman noticed that we had only one thing and said that we should have gone on ahead of her. We didn’t mind, and she had already begun loading the conveyor before we got in line. To make up for it, she insisted on paying for our purchase, adding it to her order. Despite our protests, she payed.

That small item cost her an extra $3 and 10 seconds, but it made us happy for two days as we recounted the story. I’m smiling as I type this, remembering it.

It’s easy to make someone’s day, especially in today’s society. You don’t even have to go out of your way, simply look for the opportunities that are already around you. How can you overwhelm someone today?