Keeping on Track

Everyone's had one of those days. You know the ones - you finally succeeded in doing something nice for someone, or generally making the world a little bit better...but nobody really cares. What's more, if you try to make anyone else aware of your good deeds, you'll likely be labelled as 'attention-seeking' or 'selfish', just for wanting your due thanks.

You see, most people see altruism (a sense of 'disinterested and selfless' care for others, according to Google) as black-and-white, with no middle ground. In other words, you must be a true saint to be seriously considered as a true believer in altruism; any less, and everyone around you disregards your efforts as self-centred. It's an difficult river to traverse, littered with pessimism and those who would rather judge your actions than reflect on their own.

It isn't impossible, though - so long as you make time, and put in the effort. After all, if you had to be perfect to be a good person, then we'd just be in a world of supervillains. It's in the name: all you want is to be good, it isn't your responsibility to fix everything. And if you're still struggling to come to terms with sometimes sub-par results, let's go into a bit more detail about how you can add kindness to your everyday life (without having to suffer a martyr's death in the process).

So start small. Smile at the postman when he delivers your parcels. Wave at the kid learning to ride a bike in the middle of the street. Good deeds can only ever be perceived as selfish if you clearly plan it out. So be spontaneous and unpredictable - think of it like sprinkling icing sugar over everything. Kindness makes the world a better place, even in the smallest amounts; and even more so when it's not quite expected.

Now, that isn't to say plans can't be for good (I mean, who doesn't love a good surprise party?) but there'll always be that one negative person who'll manage to see it all from the wrong angle. And besides, I think I speak for most when I say that I'm the only person I know who likes the bore of 'making plans'. The real fun is all in the surprise, right?

Right. And that means surprising yourself, too. The key to accomplishing good deeds, and truly achieving absolute altruism, is filling every part of your life with kindness and selflessness. Be good and generous to everyone and everything around you, and good and generous things will come to you in turn.

Smile your smile. Make those pancakes. Recycle and give back to nature, as well as your fellow human beings. Brightening someone's day is truly invaluable; what's more still, the more time you devote to being a good person, the more happiness and good feelings you'll share to those around you. You might even inspire a friend to start their own 'good deeds' journey!

As the philosopher Emmanuel Kant aptly said, It is crucial to ourselves that we do good things. (Well, that's roughly how the quote goes, anyway...) Altruism, by definition, comes from doing good deeds because it is a necessary part of life and society. If we stopped carrying out good deeds, the human race would cease to exist.

So the next time you're worrying about your actions, or intentions, or whatever else you might be wary of, check yourself. Remember that everyone feels that way sometimes, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with it - if you were happy all the time, you'd never be able to appreciate. Likewise, we'd never know that good deeds existed, if they weren't truly good.