When you consider possibilities to change your community, you may envision something grand. Like a new program, a major fundraising event, or some kind of public event. However, community impact can sometimes begin in the smallest ways. It is your everyday good deeds. All the things that you do without even thinking can change your world more than you know.

It makes people feel like they matter

Not all kindness of action needs to be visible and dramatic. It may be just opening the door, letting a full-handed person pass, or giving a smile to a stranger when you have had a bad day. All these are unspoken moments, but very heavy moments.

Consider individuals like Karen McLeave, Toronto, who has constantly participated in the community. Her case teaches us that it is the regular, mindful work that goes virtually unnoticed by the rest of the world that makes a community feel united and supported.

The kindness spreads to other people

Impact is never really a matter of the actions. It is about the individuals. By simply:

• Taking the time to notice someone.
• To listen.
• To help without expecting anything in return.

You leave someone with this message: you matter. Such a message creates a powerful impact. Others might not be able to repeat your speech word-for-word. However, they will remember how you made them feel. And they spill out to those feelings. When someone feels seen and appreciated, they have much more reason to spread their kindness to another person.

It makes people better

Kindness also entails uplifting individuals so that they feel empowered. Rather than struggling to fix everything on their behalf, you can make room and enable them to feel competent. Some examples include:

• Telling a younger individual that they can do it
• Supporting local mom and pop shops
• Giving your time to mentor someone.

That is what long-term impact is all about, making people stand taller, not making them reliant. 

It promotes a culture of care

Small actions are sometimes easy to write off. But they make the biggest difference. For instance:

• Picking up trash on the sidewalk.
• Saying hello to your neighbors.
• Stopping to check on someone who appears lonely. 

All of these things may seem like such small gestures, but in combination, they make a culture of care.

When a sufficient number of individuals take an obligation toward these minute actions, they will start transforming their very society. Trust grows. People are happier, more integrated, and more optimistic about their community.

The bottom line

The point is that kindness is leaving things better than you found them. You do not have to be popular to make a difference. You are already helping your community by being caring, consistent, and open to linking.

The next time you are tempted at all to think that small things do not count, then there is a thing you have to remember: yes, they do. Incidentally, they are the building blocks of a better, kinder world.