Do a good deed : making others feel good will make you feel great - and help yourself, too - Mind, Body, Spirit - Brief Article

Natural Health, April, 2003

IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT TO DO OR SAY something to make a person's day, says David Wagner, a Minnetrista, Minn.-based inspirational speaker and author of Life as a Daymaker (Jodere Group, 2003). And the recipient of your kind deed or words isn't the only one who benefits. People who contributed to the lives of others on a daily basis lived longer than those who didn't, according to a recent study. Here, Wagner offers four simple ways to do a kind deed.

1. Let another driver pass you in a traffic jam.

2. If an employee is exceptionally kind or helpful to you, send a letter of praise to her manager.

3. Let someone with fewer packages than you go ahead in line at the checkout counter.

4. Thank people who wait on you, like bus drivers and cashiers.