Pay it Forward
Wealthy Affiliates is a Pay it Forward community. A lot of you know where that phrase came from, but some of you may not. That little 3-word phrase is a good philosophy to live by. Catherine Ryan Hyde, an author of more than 25 novels, published Pay It Forward in 1999. The movie of the same name, came out shortly thereafter in 2000.
The philosophy of Pay It Forward is that through acts of kindness to strangers, we all foster a more caring society.
There is actually a Pay It Forward 501c3 Foundation.The Foundation seeks to support acts of kindness to people, to animal welfare, to the environment, to be compassionate to all who share the planet.(From their About page).
Wow, does this seem kind of pollyanna to you? Well, it might to some, but I firmly believe that if enough of us practiced this, it would increasingly have a positive effect on larger and larger societal groups. Sort of like throwing a pebble in a puddle of water to watch the rings expand, until they fill the whole puddle.
Did you know there is a Pay It Forward Day? We missed it this year - it was April 30. Maybe next year.
Do any of you remember the Random Acts of Kindness movement around the same time? A few paperback books carrying short stories about kind things people did for others were published. There is actually a Random Acts of Kindness Week. It was February 16 - 23 this year. Maybe next year we'll catch it.
I know some of you are thinking that this kindness stuff is just too much. I think it is just a mindset. And these acts of kindness can be small things: Leave 50 cents on the vending machine for the next person, or leave those pesky pennies loading down your pocket on the counter for the next person. Let the person that has only two items go ahead of you in the grocery line.
One other "do good" philosophy has been around since Bible times. We refer to it as the Golden Rule.Thanks to numerous translations it has gotten easier to say: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." The Golden Rule is pretty easy to understand: "If you don't want water thrown in your face, don't throw water in another's face."
When I took an Ethics class in college eons ago, I was surprised to learn that some companies base their everyday practices with employees and customers on the Golden rule.
There is no great big lesson to learn here. It's just something to remember, when we have a particularly aggravating day, a "Pay it forward", or "do to others"moment can melt the aggravation away.
Have a productive day and Pay it Forward. That phrase makes Wealthy Affiliates one of a kind!
Barbara
Recent Comments
4
Great post and information!
I am sure WA members would do anything they could for each other!
Michael Inman
H Barbara,
Thank for giving us the background information of the creation of the pay it forward phrase! Indeed, it is important that we incorporate this phrase in our everyday life.
We already practice it here at WA on a daily basis. However, we have to just make it a part of our entire life. Thanks for sharing this interesting and important information with us today.
Much success to you!
Kind regards,
Nichola
Absolutely,
In fact I work in the substance misuse field and that is a policy we bang on about all the time, as often addicts are unable to think of no one but their own problems, chaos and drama,
And it works, so by helping others it helps yourself,
Smile at others (not in a mad or weird way) and all of a sudden you yourself feel better.
So pay it forward... 👍