Happiness is Contagious
by Jordan Myska Allen, a lover of life and entrepreneur. He acts as a psychological, spiritual, and professional consultant and practices applied integral thinking.
Happiness is not a zero-sum game. The more you share happiness, the more it grows. Most people know this, but some have taken bold and inspiring steps to systematize the power of kindness, sharing, and paying it forward. Here are a couple of examples.
Caffè sospeso
There’s an old Italian tradition of buying a “coffee suspended”—paying in advance for someone of lesser means to come and get a free coffee—as an anonymous act of charity. The practice has recently spread to cafes around the world (verified by Snopes and Wikipedia (1)), bolstered by social media (2), and even adopted by some Starbucks locations in the UK (3).
This idea isn’t without challenges: How do you qualify people to receive the free coffees? How do the people who need this know where to go? How do customers trust the cafe to give away the coffee? Does the cafe really turn down a needy person if no one has bought a coffee ‘suspended’? If we’re really going for the needy, don’t they need more nutritious options?
Its still a simple action that produces a warm feeling inside both the giving and receiving parties. Unless it’s iced coffee.
Kindness Boomerang
Watching this video about kindness inspires me to be more kind. What do you think?
Life Vest Inside’s vision: “By living kindly and believing in the inherent good of each individual, change is POSSIBLE!” (4)
One For One
Most people know about Toms Shoes’ “One For One” Program, where the company donates one pair of shoes for each pair of shoes customers buy. While this program is the most public (and most criticized), it has also promoted awareness for a variety of brands with similar programs. (5) One school in Austin has even taken the model to education (6). Whether shopping or going to school gives or drains your happiness, you might consider ways these actions can improve your mood while improving that of others.
Make it Happen
What can you do to spread your happiness, and watch it exponentially grow? What other organizations and projects are good examples of paying it forward?
References
(1) http://www.snopes.com/glurge/suspended.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caff%C3%A8_sospeso
(2) The most popular story goes:
We enter a little coffeehouse with a friend of mine and give our order. While we’re approaching our table two people come in and they go to the counter:
‘Five coffees, please. Two of them for us and three suspended’
They pay for their order, take the two and leave. I ask my friend:
‘What are those ‘suspended’ coffees?’
‘Wait for it and you will see.’
Some more people enter. Two girls ask for one coffee each, pay and go. The next order was for seven coffees and it was made by three lawyers—three for them and four ‘suspended’. While I still wonder what’s the deal with those ‘suspended’ coffees I enjoy the sunny weather and the beautiful view towards the square in front of the café. Suddenly a man dressed in shabby clothes who looks like a beggar comes in through the door and kindly asks ‘Do you have a suspended coffee?’
It’s simple—people pay in advance for a coffee meant for someone who can not afford a warm beverage. The tradition with the suspended coffees started in Naples, but it has spread all over the world and in some places you can order not only a suspended coffee, but also a sandwich or a whole meal.
(4) http://lifevestinside.com/about.php
(5) http://mashable.com/2010/11/07/buy-one-give-one/ http://www.toms.com/our-movement/l