Have you ever actually thought about the number of people that you touch in a single day? Really?

One day soon, just start counting. The husband bringing you morning coffee, the neighbor you wave to on the morning walk, the employee at the drive-through, the friend on the phone call, the teller at the bank, the smiling woman next to you at the stop-light (you exchange smiles), and even the recipients of the gazillion emails you send in a particular day.

You have an incredible potential to affect many peoples’ day.

Yesterday I had one of the more personal encounters. At yoga I noticed the man next to me on his mat doing the class poses but without a towel. The yoga I practice is hot, and most people are prone to copious amounts of sweating. This guy was no exception and the studio pretty much requires a towel between you and their mats and carpet. He had tried to use a sweatshirt for part of the job, but it was soaked and useless.

I wouldn’t be able to watch him suffer without wiping off for another hour so I asked him, “I have an extra towel. I can get it for you, if you’d like?” He replied “oh yes” with relief.

In actuality I only had one towel, and it was for my shower afterwards. Nevertheless, I went to the locker room to retrieve it. Why did I do that?

Truthfully, the joy of helping someone out was worth my struggling later with how to get dry after my own shower. It was so pleasant to be supportive in some little way during the course of my day. And when the yoga guy sheepishly offered to give my towel back after class dismissed, knowing it was soaked with his sweat, I was happy to simply give him the towel to keep. I also did not want him to feel bad about it, as if he now owed me, so I said, “Just pay it forward.”

Imagine if we had the opportunity to give out joy-spreading acts throughout the day? The global energy-meter that measures positive spirit would crank to the right.

Yet we often hold back. It makes us feel self-conscious maybe. Or we don’t want the other person to feel engendered to us. Not sure. But I notice restraint in myself too often. Like last week when the bank manager I have known for several years was at the teller booth with an absolutely super-cute new hair style. I held back the compliment for some reason.

This month at Skirt Strategies has been all about what story is going on inside of your head when your daily decisions and interactions occur. It’s an aid to your work-life balance and helps boost your own joy.