What 30 Days of Giving Taught Me

I was at McDonalds one morning, and decided to stop in before work.  The anticipation of my egg white delight was making my mouth water.  It’s amazing what you get use to, I really was looking forward to this “healthy” alternative.  

While caught in my own thoughts, I quickly was snapped back to reality by the commotion at the front of the cash register.  A customer was berating two McDonalds’ workers behind the counter.

“I have waited 45 minutes for this egg mcmuffin, where is my egg mcmuffin?”  She screamed. Really, I thought to myself, 45 minutes?  Does anyone wait more than 2 minutes at McDonalds?  “If I don’t get my food now, there is going to be hell to pay”. The customer continued.

The poor workers behind the counter were shvitzing, just doing their best to get this angry customer her food.  Their faces crying out ‘when does my shift end?’

Despite just being a bystander to this whole scene, I noticed my body going from excitement and anticipation for my meal to extreme discomfort, and I wasn’t alone.  The entire restaurant had grown quiet. An uneasiness could be felt over the entire establishment.  

The customer received her food and as she left, she continued to grumble mean comments (not so discretely, I may add) to no one in particular but loud enough so everyone could hear.  I was next and as I walked to the counter it was evident that the two workers appeared completely demoralized.  

Its interesting how life seems to reflect whatever you have been focusing on. I had just read You are a Badass and in passing, the author had mentioned “30 days of giving” and how awesome it made her feel. My wife and I had decided that as a family, we would try to do the same.  I posted a calendar on the fridge with “30 days of giving” to be marked everytime that we gave something away.

Back to McDonalds...I reached the counter and decided here is where I would give today.  I called both workers over and said I really appreciated their excellent service and gave each one a $5 dollar bill.  It wasn’t much, but their smiles and the way their faces lit up stayed with me the rest of the day.  “Thank you, I needed that” one of them said.  I got my food and left.  

Upon leaving the restaurant, I noticed how I felt.  ALIVE! Juiced, whatever you want to call it, I felt it.  There was such a sense of pleasure knowing that I helped someone who needed a little pick me up that it gave me a great spark for the day.  

In my car, I had an epiphany. It wasn’t the money that picked up the spirits of the workers, it was the act of kindness.  I came home excited; “It’s not the money that matters”  I told the kids, “It’s the act of kindness”.  By the way, that was something my wife had been saying from the start of the project.  

The good feeling I felt as the result of the act of kindness, as it turns out, was not an anomaly.  Research has found that acts of kindness enhance the giver’s happiness.  Sonja Lyubomirsky and Kristin Layous amazing article validated that same premise.  They also discovered that if you mix up these acts of kindness with a different types of acts of kindness, you can be even happier! (See Acts of Kindness and Acts of Novelty Affect Life Satisfaction).  

I learned from that day at the McDonalds that acts of kindness, not just giving money away, serve to make everyone happier, including the giver.

And what about that angry customer at the McDonalds, could I have made her happier by my acts of kindness?  Perhaps I was being too judgmental, maybe she was having a bad day, just upset at something completely unrelated to the service at the restaurant.  Maybe, next time, I will give her a hug, or buy her meal and see how we both feel.

I know I will feel better.

Marc Steren is the Founding Director of Entrepreneurship at the Bullis School where he created the curriculum and the following courses; The Startup Capstone, Entrepreneurship Finance, Personal Finance, International Trade and Leadership in Action.  Marc created the Young Innovators program for high school students, a collaborative effort between the Bullis School and the University of Maryland Design Thinking and Innovation department.

Marc is the winner of the National Federation of Independent Business Entrepreneur Educator of the Year 2015, and the David S. Stone Teaching Excellence Award, 2015.

For Higher learning, Marc is the Co-Director of Georgetown University’s Summer Launch Program and an Entrepreneur-In-Residence where he maintains office hours and leads chalk talk with MBA and undergraduate students.  His students have won Georgetown University Entrepreneur of the year and winner of the Ted Leonsis challenge. He has mentored and advised many student entrepreneurship teams and is the author of The Student’s Guide To Entrepreneurship. His next book, Lessons on a Train is set for release January 2018. He is also the founder of multiple startups and has been a guest speaker for both higher learning and K-12.