Pay It Forward

If you have never seen the film Pay It Forward, it’s worth your time to watch.  Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde, the film received mostly negative reviews from film critics for being emotionally manipulative and a sales pitch for the Pay It Forward Movement.  Despite the unfavorable reception of the film, the concept of ‘pay it forward’ is a brilliant one that outlines how an ordinary person like you or me can make a positive difference in this world. 

Paying It Forward is a boundless commitment to do good deeds without expecting anything in return.  If someone does a nice thing for you, you “pay it forward” by performing an act of kindness for someone else.  If the person you helped asked how to pay you back, simply tell them to “pay it forward”.

Although paying it forward is a straightforward concept, here are a few tips to get you headed in the right direction.

Always Look For Opportunities To Help Someone 
This mission can be difficult because we live in an era of precise scheduling and overcommitment.  Much of our time is occupied with work, school, shopping, and everything else.  Of course, there will always be small opportunities to help an elderly neighbor carry out the trash, or picking up the tab for a friend’s lunch.  However, if you want to make a bigger impact, budget time into your busy schedule for community service.  Make a regular habit out of searching for chances to make other’s lives better.

Don’t Expect Much In Return 
Paying it forward does not involve any compensation other than the feeling that you performed an act of kindness for a fellow human being.  It’s about helping make the world a friendlier place.  To be selfless means to get nothing in return.  I'm not sure this pure altruism is possible.  When you give money to a beggar, don’t you get happiness or satisfaction in return?  I think so, and if you helped another person while achieving happiness, you made the world a better place.   

Don’t Forget To Spread The Word
If, in the course of your random acts of kindness, someone wants to repay you, that is “pay it back”, explain to them the concept of “paying it forward”.  Tell them you’d like them to do something nice for three people in lieu of payment to you.  The idea is to exponentially increase the goodness in the world.