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PERSPECTIVE ON SMALL THINGS

The simple helps this week are simple just like every week. Committing to them can be hard because of that. Big, grandiose gestures are more exciting. It's more compelling to "go big" than to "go small." But the truth is, a simple, small action for us can look entirely different from another perspective. Namely, from the perspective of the recipient of our kindness. Our "small" gift can (and usually does) have an impact far bigger than we can see from our perspective. Don't let the packaging fool you, big gifts come in the small things.

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.
- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

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For the week of July 27 - July 31

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Deal with the fault of another as gently as your own.
• Tuesday - Give this honest feedback to someone, “You make me want to be a better person.”
• Wednesday - Encourage a parent.
• Thursday - If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all.
• Friday - Visit donorschoose.org and discover ways you can help a teacher.

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

ATTENTION DEFICIT

It feels like nowadays there's a greater deficit in our attention than ever. Ironically, it's not because there's nothing to keep our attention; it's because we've got so many things trying to keep our attention. We've got more connections than ever (good!), and it can lead to difficulty giving enough attention to the connections that matter most. This week, w our simple helps are aimed at an attention surplus for the people in our lives who need it. 

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.
- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of July 20 - July 24

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Surprise someone with five minutes of your undivided attention.
• Tuesday - Write an uplifting message on a sticky note and put it on someone’s mirror.
• Wednesday - Go through photos on your phone and send someone a favorite or two with an encouraging text.
• Thursday - Return something you borrowed.
• Friday - Go out of your way to show someone respect.

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!
 

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WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME...

Each day comes with opportunities to create memories. And we (usually) get a choice on how good those memories are. When was the last time you had a moment you look back on fondly? It's almost certainly a moment you shared with someone else: a kind exchange with a stranger, a choice to give time to a friend instead of being too busy, or maybe just some encouraging words. For those moments and all the other good ones, "when was the last time?" is a question that brings joy with the memory. For those same moments, "when is the next time?" is a question that offers hope for the future. "When is the next time?" is the question that can change lives, and it's the question we can answer this week. We can create fond memories with simple help this week.

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.
- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

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FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 13 - JULY 17

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Keep a promise.
• Tuesday - Give random compliments to people throughout the day like “nice shirt” or “love your hair”.
• Wednesday - Give someone the space they need.
• Thursday - Do your best to calm someone’s fear.
• Friday - Register to vote: www.usa.gov/register-to-vote. Already a voter? Encourage someone who isn’t already registered to do so.

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

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"TOGETHER" IS WORTH IT

It's usually simpler to do things alone. When we try to work together, there are other people's needs and emotions to consider. That's inherently more complicated. Working together requires us to flex "helping" muscles that sit unused and atrophic when we do life alone. But, as is usually the case, with more work comes more reward. There is more happiness and greater good in life together. The simple helps this week are focused on choosing to be a part of life together. It may be more work than being alone, but it's worth it.

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.
- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 6 - JULY 10

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Ask someone to tell you about their 4th of July.
• Tuesday - Do a favor for someone.
• Wednesday - Fill out the 2020 Census at www.2020census.gov
• Thursday - Share the title of the best book/movie/series you’ve enjoyed recently.
• Friday - Protect others: wear a mask in public settings.

Be awesome. Make someone's day.  Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

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NO STRAIGHT LINES

It's true that the quickest path between two points is a straight line. Not where you want to be or, perhaps, who you want to be? The quickest way to get to the place you want is a straight line of progress with no slip-ups. Only, that doesn't exist in the real world. There are innumerable faulty steps, falls, and outright failures on the way to our goals. And that's okay, because the quickest path isn't the only path. The journey towards becoming a better person may be a winding road, but all that matters is we keep walking it together. There are no straight lines there; so this week let's keep on the curvy path to the place, and towards the people, we want to be.

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.
- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of June 29 - July 3

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Post the website address of a charity organization that you want others to know about.
• Tuesday - Leave the best parking spot for someone else.
• Wednesday - Respond to everyone with your kindest voice.
• Thursday - Show love in a chore you do for someone.
• Friday - Wish everyone a Happy 4th of July Weekend!

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Share this with your friends. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

CHOOSING PRESENCE 

Our lives are so full of distractions that it starts to feel normal. It feels so normal that we even look for distractions when nothing is calling for our attention. It can start to feel unnatural to just be ...present. Being present in the moment with someone else means we're choosing to be there; we're choosing presence over the distractions with which we've grown comfortable. This week, our simple helps are focused on choosing to be present with people, rather than letting those moments get stolen by distractions. Life and relationships are more fun when they get our full attention.

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.
- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

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For the week of June 15 - June 19

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Look into the eyes of the person talking to you.
• Tuesday - Invite someone to sign up to be part of the Simple.Help family at Simple.Help.
• Wednesday - Help someone who is going through something you’ve been through.
• Thursday - Ask someone, “What can I do to help you?”
• Friday - Wish someone a Happy Father’s Day Weekend!

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Share this with your friends. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

HOW TO SOLVE BIG PROBLEMS

It's easy to overestimate problems and underestimate our ability to help. Certainly, there are big problems out there; we're in no danger of overestimating their size. But if we're not careful, we can overestimate their invulnerability to change. It's often because we underestimate our ability to effect that change. No single act of kindness can write its own headline the way a catastrophe can. But those simple helps we offer are how we can change the world. We change headlines by impacting the story of people's lives in personal ways.

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.
- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of June 8 - June 12

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Start today; no judging another.
• Tuesday - Put an extra umbrella in your car to give someone who needs it.
• Wednesday - Make a list of someone’s best qualities and give it to them.
• Thursday - Check out this way to help someone who is blind: https://www.bemyeyes.com/
• Friday - Relay an overheard compliment.

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

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Hope vs. Fear

Two big events happened this week. Two men flew to the International Space Station on a SpaceX rocket, and American cities burned with riots in the streets. It was hope made contrast with fear. It was a vision of what's possible when we work together, on a backdrop of what's at stake when we're torn apart. And that's why the world needs you this week. It needs us. The Simple Helps this week aren't rocket science; they're simple. But rockets aren't the only way to lift us. Hope elevates us when it is dramatic and when it is simple. And it's exactly what the world needs right now.

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.
- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of June 1 - June 5

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Praise someone in front of others.
• Tuesday - Ask someone to talk to you about what means the most to them.
• Wednesday - Send a card to a kid in the hospital. http://www.cardsforhospitalizedkids.com/
• Thursday - Let someone go in front of you.
• Friday - Use your social media or email to let people know about a friend’s or acquaintance’s small business, blog, or website.

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Share this with your friends. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

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Judging vs. Empathizing

There is an easy way to predict if an imperfect action will be met with empathy or judgment. Who are we asking? If it's us who did it, we'll usually have a great reason. We have a lot of empathy for ourselves, because we know about all the mitigating factors that led to a decision. ("I hate to cut in traffic but I'm so incredibly late!") If it's us who've been inconvenienced, we're quick to judge whoever did it. We have a lot of judgment for others, because we usually don't know a single factor that led to their decision. It's a simple idea to treat others the way we'd want to be treated, but that doesn't mean it's easy. It's hard because it requires empathy (to get inside the feelings of others). And that's exactly what we get to practice with this week's simple helps!

Don't Forget:

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.

- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of May 18 - May 22

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Deal with the faults of another as gently as your own.
• Tuesday - Don’t nag anyone about anything today.
• Wednesday - Encourage a senior citizen with a letter. www.lovefortheelderly.org
• Thursday - Encourage someone who is having a rough day.
• Friday - Congratulate a graduate.

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Share this with your friends. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

Practice makes perfect

When we see a star athlete performing at the top of their game, we can think "they make it look easy." And they do. But it takes years and years, and thousands of hours, to make it look easy. And that practice benefits the future goal, even though it doesn't benefit anyone too much while it's happening. Helping people gets more effortless with practice too! We can start to make it look easy when we get enough practice in. One huge difference: the practice we put in now benefits the people around us. Whether we are practicing kindness or have become champions of kindness, the world is better for it.

Don't Forget:

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.

- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of May 11 - May 15

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Ask a mom what the best thing was about her Mother’s Day.
• Tuesday - Tell someone who ought to know, “You made my day.”
• Wednesday - Send an encouraging text message to someone you haven’t contacted in a while.
• Thursday - Thank a teacher.  Whether written or spoken, you will be thanking someone who doesn’t hear it enough.
• Friday - Designate your favorite charity to receive .5% of what you spend on smile.amazon.com. Can’t decide which one? How about Community Resource Network - preventing family homelessness in Central Florida?

Be awesome. Make someone's day.  Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

Two ears and one mouth

If we ask a parent why we have two ears and one mouth, it's because we should listen twice as much as we talk. If we ask a biologist, however, it's because two ears provide useful stereo for locating the sound source. And because we can project and direct our voice better with just one mouth. Then we'd realize the parent was right all along, because we would've never learned those biology factoids without listening! This week is about listening first and second, then speaking third. It's a simple way to help make the world better. And bonus, our ears and mouth were built for this.

Don't Forget:

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.

- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of May 4 - May 8

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Listen to someone without having to add your own story to what they’ve said.
• Tuesday - Learn something new and share it with a friend. You can start here.
• Wednesday - Let someone have their way without rolling your eyes or sighing.
• Thursday - Ask someone to tell you about their pet.
• Friday - Lighten the mood; engage someone with a joke. Don’t know any? Here you go: JOKES

Be awesome. Make someone's day.  Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

Us vs. Them

Group affiliation is natural. We've got loyalty to a family, or a country, or 100 other kinds of groups. It's an instinctual and super helpful trait. "Us" is almost always better than "me." But it gets us into trouble when we change our sights to "us" being better than "them." Groups can unite or divide people. This week, our Simple Helps are from members of "us" who get these emails. We get to join in and do these actions as part of that group. If you think about it, the only difference between us and them is... you.

Don't Forget:

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.

- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of April 27 - May 1

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - While making dinner or a snack, make an extra plate and share it with a neighbor. - submitted by Dianne Brown
• Tuesday - Sweep/leaf blower the drive or sidewalk of a neighbor: maybe even an elderly one. - submitted by Becky Brown
• Wednesday - Give random compliments to people throughout the day. - submitted by Hope Duncan
• Thursday - Write a letter or email to someone telling them how much you care about them. - submitted by Lauren Pence
• Friday - Take a walk around the neighborhood; say “Hi!” and wave to everyone you meet. - submitted by Carol Boldman

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

Home vs. Away

We're all still staying home, and there are two ways to look at that when it comes to helping others. A glass half-full that's out of reach or a glass half-full that's right at hand. (Yes, the glass is always half-full... this is Simple Help!😃) Helping others is going to be simple or complicated depending on how you look at being stuck at home. In sports, playing away games is harder for lots of reasons: unfamiliar settings, unpredictable crowds, or maybe just being tired from the trip. And that's where we have some good news! Helping other people this week doesn't have to be an away game. From the comfort of our own homes, we can brighten people's lives with this week's Simple Helps. We've got home field advantage to make this week count!

Don't Forget:

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.

- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of April 20 - April 24

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Check in with someone who is alone.
• Tuesday - Keep helping everyone by staying home, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands.
• Wednesday - Thank a person who makes your life easier.
• Thursday - Clean up someone’s mess today.
• Friday - Email your Simple Help suggestions to info@simple.help. Suggestions should take less than 5 minutes and cost less than $5.

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!

Mental energy

As the weeks continue with social distancing and extra precautions, it's understandable feeling a little more drained than usual. It takes a lot of mental energy to deal with such a radical change in lifestyle. Here's some encouragement on that front: mental energy has a lot in common with physical energy. The greatest athletes in the world are capable of doing tremendous physical feats for incredible amounts of time because they put hours and years of practice in. Mentally, the ability to create joy and intentional kindness is enhanced by the same kind of practice. Need more mental reserve? Sometimes the best answer is to simply help someone else.

Don't Forget:

- You can reference Simple Help using "@gohelpsomebody" on FB, Twitter or Instagram.

- Add the hashtag "#simplehelp" to any related post on social media. Use it, and the whole tribe of helpers can easily see ways we are making a difference!

For the week of April 13 - April 17

Actions: The Simple Helps to remember

• Monday - Play Freerice.  Answer questions to donate rice, to people in need, through the UN World Food Programme. Ten grains of rice are donated each time you answer a question.
• Tuesday - Make someone smile today; bonus points for making them laugh.
• Wednesday - Use your social media to recommend a great book you’ve read or excellent Netflix series you’ve watched.
• Thursday - Respond to everyone with your kindest voice.
• Friday - Thank someone who is helping others during this COVID-19 crisis.

Be awesome. Make someone's day. Join the rest of us this week and go help somebody! To see each day’s Simple.Help in your Facebook feed Monday through Friday click here and hit “LIKE” or follow Simple.Help on Instagram!