“The expression ‘pay it forward’ is used to describe the concept of asking that a good turn be repaid by having it done to others instead.” (Wikipedia)
Essentially a third party person benefits from your act of kindness. There are many stories out there of a person in a drive thru paying for a person’s order in the car behind them, or someone donating a kidney to an anonymous recipient. These do-gooders are paying it forward with no expectation for reciprocation.
Why do they do it if they get nothing out of it? Because it feels good – it’s that simple! We need to feel good about ourselves to have good mental health. That doesn’t mean we need to feel good about our appearance, or feel good about the car we drive or how much money we make – we need to feel good about the person we are and what we contribute to society.
People who “pay it forward” are making a genuine effort to be a better person and impact another life in a positive, meaningful way. It improves our self-esteem, our sense of self-worth, and adds overall value to our lives to pay it forward.
Mental health is work and takes effort to achieve; we should do something everyday to improve our mental health (i.e., practice positive thinking, do something that makes you happy, eliminate negative forces, pay it forward, etc.).
Share some examples of how you have paid it forward.
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