Pay It Forward is an expression that essentially means to do a good deed for others after you have received one instead of repaying the deed to the original benefactor.
The concept has been traced all the way back 317 BC so is nothing new and has been rediscovered throughout time by different influential people keeping it a relevant idea.
If I’m honest I’d never really heard of the concept until I was in high school and we had to watch the 2000 film aptly named Pay It Forward.
A very brief plot of the film without spoilers is that a teacher sets an assignment for students to come up with a plan that will make a change in the world for the better. So then Trevor (the main character) sets out a plan for one person to help 3 people and then they each help 3 more people and so on. But it has to be a major favour that the recipient couldn’t do themselves.
When you think about it something so simple could actually make a huge difference if more people did it. Although in the film it is about huge things realistically that’s not really possible for every person but if you think creatively something small can make a huge difference to someone and if they pass it on instead of back you can help and inspire more people.
It can sound a bit out there but can also happen. In 2014 at a Starbucks in Florida, USA a ‘pay it forward chain’ lasted for nearly 11 hours with 457 customers, after one customer said he would pay for the car behinds order. They were then told and decided to do the same for the people behind them. People were then being asked if they would like to also do it.
This sounds a bit random and the man who ended it said he didn’t want to feel he had to do it and felt as though it was no longer a spontaneous act of kindness if the barista is asking people. This is a fair point and obviously everyone has their own opinion and can decided what they want to do.
However nobody knows what anyone is going through, simply knowing a complete stranger has bought you a coffee for no reason but kindness restores your faith in humanity. Especially in the world we live in today sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that there are good people out there.
There will always be people with more than you and always people with less than you. Obviously not everyone can do it all the time but if more people did it once in a while think of all the people that would experience a kind gesture.
Personally I try to live this everyday and pay it forward one step at a time.
At the end of the day it’s nice to be nice. So pay it forward today and everyday!
Link to Pay it Forward Trailer (2000) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pCtXRP1edo
Photo Credits: Pay it Forward image sourced from the films official Facebook page – I do not own any rights to this photo
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