Monday, February 21, 2011

good deeds ~ 29-day giving challenge

several years ago i was not in a very happy place.  while i loved everything that was happening in my personal life, majority of my days were spent working at a job that was not at all right for me.  it was a 9-5 office job, full of gossiping co-workers and a high-stress boss.  i had just come from being a kindergarten teacher, mind you, so i was used to singing, dancing, coloring, & creating entire universes out of blocks.  being in that soul-sucking desk job made me feel completely lost! 


i can't remember exactly how it happened, but somehow i found the 29-day giving challenge, and i was quite intrigued.  could i really give something away every day for an entire month?  would i really have the energy to think outside of myself a little each day?  after all, i was spending a very large amount of time throwing myself a pity party.  ultimately, i decided that i needed something a little extreme to bring more purpose and growth to my life.  i had no idea what the outcome would be, but i figured things couldn't get any worse.

i started out giving away material possessions i no longer needed - clothes, shoes, & a couple kitchen gadgets.  after a week of giving away the obvious, my focus started shifting from things to people.  one morning i made an extra sandwich and gave it to the homeless girl near my office.  another morning i picked beautiful flowers and gave them to the bus driver who faithfully drove me to work each day.  by the end of the month i was constantly thinking about the people around me, whether they were my dear friends or complete strangers.  all i could think was "hmm... what can i give right now?"  i sent care packages to friends going through hard times, snagged a seat on the bus just so i could give it away, i gave smiles and hugs, i gave my time and friendliness, i even began giving a much more cheerful attitude to my boss.  it was such a beautiful experience to shift my thoughts from "woe is me" to "woah, i have a lot to give!"  i took all of that frustrated energy and turned it into selfless energy, energy which i hope made a difference in at least one person's life.  

i'm not the only one who has experienced the benefits of giving.  there are thousands of people who have joined the challenge and you can too!  head over to the website to sign up and be a part of the community of givers.  and if you'd like to learn more, you can watch the video below by the founder of the 29-day challenge {who's just a regular person, like you and me, making the world a much better place}.



i'm really excited about this good deed, since i had such an amazing personal experience to go with it.  if you have experienced a good deed that has impacted your life for the better, i would love to hear about it!  you can share it in the comments or email me at fillyourwell{at}gmail{dot}com.  

19 comments:

  1. cute blog!
    Follow me? I'll be very happy if you do it!
    THank you so much!

    www.cipollainspiration.blogspot.com

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  2. Oh dear Kim, the world will be a happy place if the whole world have the same good thoughts like you.
    You know, you are one of those inspiring people I’ve met in the blogosphere and man do I glad to have you as one of my blogfriends. *hugs*

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  3. what a beautiful idea! i would love to give that a go! xo

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  4. What a great idea. I remember when I felt most alone in Slovenia and missing my boyfriend the most a stranger walked up to me on the street and asked me out for coffee, it made my day, but I still regret turning him down, if only I had said yes I'm sure I would have made a great friend... stupid me!

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  5. This is a beautiful idea and I love reading your experience with the project, Kim! The more I read your blog the more I find out about how amazing of a person you are. I wish I knew you in person, ha! Thank you for continually filling us in on these great types of projects!

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  6. This is such an inspirational post Kim! And it's something we should all keep in mind each and every day. I loved reading the examples of the things you chose to give. You have such a beautiful soul my friend :)

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  7. What a beautiful, inspiring post! I am in that situation that you were in, a few years ago. I work a 8-5 job, that I feel sucks the life out of me. I find myself searching and grasping at any positivity that I can find that will help pass my day a bit quicker.

    Thank you for this. I need to be that positive change in my life :)

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  8. I have to tell you, even though my current job sometimes stresses me out, I can't believe how happy I am there. It's amazing and it's really changed things or me.

    Such an inspirational post Kim!

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  9. Kim, I love it! I had a moment just now where I thought about what I can give away. I don't have many material possessions here and there's not much money in my life at the moment, but I can certainly find little things to give away and help people like you did. And 29 days begins to make such generosity a habit, I'm sure.

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  10. That is such a beautiful idea! :) I love all the things that you did - it just sounds like it was a transformative experience for you too! That seriously sounds amazing. I love it! :)

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  11. Are you serious? I need to do this ASAP. Giving is what life is about and I need to restructure my life so that I can do this. Thank you. You are touching so many lives with this and by sharing the word.

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  12. This is an amazing idea. I love it! I'm going to read up some more on it, and maybe it will be my resolution to start working on next week!

    Ditto to what everyone else has said, Kim. You are simple lovely. I feel really lucky to know you.

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  13. First, I can totally see you as kindergarten teacher. I bet you were a lot of fun. Second, this is a great challenge. There is something freeing about giving to others. I'll have to check this out. Love this series..

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  14. Wow this is such a sweet idea!

    Also, what made you stop being a kindergarten teacher?

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  15. this is such a beautiful post kim!! thank you!! :)

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  16. what an amazing thing... we need more giving people in this selfish world... thanks for making it a better place to live in!

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  17. Oh you are such a wonderful person!!
    This is such a great idea, I can't wait to sign up :)

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  18. okay this is such a cute challenge and i hope to be able to do this one day! we shall see!

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  19. This is incredible, Kim. From reading through some of your archives, it seems we have a lot in common. So so so happy to have found your blog...excited to follow along :)

    P.S. Thank you for your sweet comment

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