In The Mandalorian, when bounty hunter Din Djarin aka Mando arrives on Arvala-7 to search for The Child, he comes across an alien of the Ugnaught race named Kuiil. Kuiil is caring, wise, skilled and selfless. When he learns that Mando is searching for The Child to protect him from the Imperial forces who had hired him in find The Child, he agrees to help him. Whenever Kuiil decided he would do something, he would abruptly say, “I have spoken” and walk away. By saying this he would basically mean, end of discussion, that’s what I am doing. 

What we can learn from Kuiil is that when we make the decision that we will do something and announce it, we should stand by it. After all, actions speak louder than words. And we are what we do, not what we say we’ll do.

People underestimate the power of kindness. Everyone believes they have to do something grand in order to change the world. Let me tell you that changing just one life is more than enough, even if that life is yours. A simple smile can brighten someone’s day, and a short conversation can save someone’s life. The thing we need most in this world is kindness. As humans, we constantly deal with situations that affect our mental health. Sometimes you just need some words of encouragement to keep going. Never underestimate how simple actions can make a significant impact.

Last year I wrote a post about a meltdown I had one day in my car because a stranger showed me basic kindness. I had been dealing with a lot of toxicity in my life at that point, and someone just being kind to me, touched my heart in a way I will never forget.

When you ask yourself what you have to offer the world, it becomes a transactional or exchange-oriented mindset and can lead to you misunderstanding your own value. You don’t have to offer anything to the world other than being yourself. A million people out in the world would benefit from simply knowing you and talking to you. You can give people honesty, respect, your experience, your passion. All of these things are innately you. For example, sharing your passion with others can inspire them to find their own passion. By being yourself and doing what you love, you can motivate others to do the same.

You also need to look at your actions as compounding. Small steps lead to massive change. A friendly word to a stranger said once might make a huge difference, like it did for me. If you make it a habit to say something nice to three people you meet every day, those actions compound, and they can make a massive difference over time.

If you want to make a difference in the world, here are five small actions you can take to make the world a better place.

Compliment Friends and Strangers

Compliments make people happy and improve their mood throughout the day. You will be making people feel good, sometimes when they need it most, but you’ll also get better at speaking to strangers and improving your social skills.

Shop Wisely

Choose local businesses, women-owned businesses, and minority-owned businesses when possible. You will be supporting real people who are pursuing their dreams instead of large corporations.

Get To Know Your Neighbors

Nowadays, it’s becoming rarer and rarer that people know their neighbors. In America, it’s only about 20% of people who do. Getting friendly with the people you live close to can improve your neighborhood and brighten your life and the lives of those around you.

Build A Garden

Building a garden in your yard can do wonderful things for the bees and birds in your area. It also cleans the soil and the air. Plus, being outside in nature will boost your mood, so you can share that with others. When I was a kid, we had a huge garden. And I was often tasked with bringing fresh produce to our neighbors. They were always so grateful that we would share with them.

Seek Volunteer Opportunities

If you want to feel like you’re making a difference, consider seeking volunteer opportunities in your local area. Being a part of a community cook-out to feed the homeless can feel great and do a lot of good. If you feel more comfortable volunteering online, you can check out Crisis Text Line. I volunteered with them for quite some time, and I can promise you that we made a difference in people’s lives every day.

‘You reap what you sow’ is a saying that originates from the Bible. It essentially means how you treat others will be mirrored back to you in the way others treat you. It also means that you must be responsible for your actions because the rewards and consequences of your efforts will follow. Simply put: living a good life will lead to good things and vice versa.

It’s important to realize that we are in control of our own lives through our actions. If we act with kindness, we will receive love. If we act with hatred, we will receive hate. It’s one of those simple sayings that are incredibly profound, like treat others how you want to be treated. Of course, no matter what, every human will experience happiness and suffering, but how much of that we receive varies depending on how we move throughout our lives.

Sowing comes first. Sowing is the action, whereas reaping is the reward. Consider farmers or gardeners; they sow their seeds and reap their crops. If you work hard and live a life with compassion for others, you will be rewarded tenfold.

It’s essential to look at your life to understand what you are sowing. Here are the three most important areas you need to take a deep dive into and evaluate how you can improve to reap greater yields.

How Do You Treat People In Your Life?

When it comes to relationships, friends, and family, you need to take a good look at how you treat others. Do you listen well? Are you supportive? Do you encourage the people you love? Do you treat them with respect and kindness? And most importantly, how can you do better? Treating people the way you want to be treated will bring you more happiness than you know what to do with.

How Do You Operate In Business?

How you operate in business is important because it shows your intentions and values. Are you fair in business? Do you have good business practices? Do you feel like what you do has a purpose and helps people? Treat everyone you do business with like they are family, and you will reap great rewards in the long run.

How Do You Treat Your Body?

Your physical health has a significant impact on how you behave. If you don’t take care of your body, you need to consider if you are correctly taking care of your mind and, furthermore, if you can take care of others. Treat your body like a temple, respect it and nourish it. You can do this by exercising, eating well, and stretching. By taking care of your body, you will also feed your mind, which is the key to living a satisfying life.

Fear of judgment is probably one of the most crippling fears people struggle with daily. It starts in school and sometimes never goes away, especially for those who were bullied.

The truth is that every single person you know is struggling in some way with their own self-love. Everyone has self-doubts and insecurities to deal with, and these thoughts can be very distracting.

Imagine you are at a party and you’re feeling insecure. When you say hi to someone, you nearly forget their name because you’re thinking about if you have a piece of spinach stuck in your teeth and how embarrassing that would be if they saw it when you smiled at them. The people around you often have very similar experiences. In this example, it’s clear that the negative thoughts in your head make it harder for you to notice any physical or personality flaws in the other person because you’re too focused on yourself. The people you encounter are experiencing the same thing, too.

Even if you did something embarrassing or something that might leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth, you would likely focus on it longer than anyone else. It’s easy to feel guilt or shame around a specific experience for a long time after it happens, but rest assured, most of the time, people have already forgotten about it. And if they haven’t, just remember that they’re not perfect either. No one is perfect. We are all humans that make mistakes, and that’s okay.

The secret to a happy life is to build confidence and compassion in tandem. Confidence to proudly walk in your own shoes and a big enough heart to not judge others just like you wouldn’t want to be judged. Here are three quick tips for having faith in yourself and empathy for others.

1. Practice forgiveness. Forgiveness goes both ways. You need to be able to forgive other people and forgive yourself for things you’ve done. Remember, forgiving others isn’t always about them––forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. It’s about letting go and moving on. Forgiveness also doesn’t mean you need to allow someone to stay in your life.

2. Have a growth mindset. Instead of avoiding challenges, difficult conversations, or awkward situations, face them head-on with a growth mindset. See them as opportunities for you to learn something. If you let your ego take charge, you will meet these challenges from a defensive place. This will only create more stress, drama and it will ultimately stunt your own growth.

3. Stop negative thoughts in their tracks. Be mindful of the negative thoughts you have about yourself. This can be tricky, because a lot of these thoughts might be running on auto pilot. Challenge your own beliefs about yourself. When you have a negative thought about yourself, train your brain to look for positive things to balance it out. Counter the negative thought with two to three things you like about yourself.

In Better Call Saul, Jimmy, who we later know as Saul Goodman, is having an argument with Kim about his reinstatement hearing. At one point in it, he blurts out, “You look at me and you see Slippin’ Jimmy!”. Slippin’ Jimmy is in reference to a nickname he got from a con he ran years prior for staging “slip and fall” accidents. Now Jimmy was trying to go legit and be reinstated as a lawyer.

The truth is, it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and only a moment to lose it. When you have developed a reputation, whether it is fair or not, it can be hard to shake. Past choices can damage your reputation and put you at a disadvantage. But it is not your final destination. The best way to overcome it is to consistently show the world who you really are. People will take notice. I wrote about this in depth in another post that you can read here.

Have you ever felt like people are judging you? Maybe you posted a picture you thought looked really good on Instagram, but you got some negative comments? Maybe you told a friend about a success in your life, but they made you feel bad about your win.

If you’ve ever been in a situation with unnecessary negativity, you’re not alone. There are always going to be people who want to pull you down, discourage you, or assert their opinion. Their difference of opinion may even stem out of their own sense of love or concern.

What’s important to remember is that you have a choice how you respond. You can remain confident in yourself, or let others’ opinions and judgements tear you down.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what others think or say about you – and here are 4 reasons why.

Why it doesn’t matter what others think

1. They are projecting their own issues. Most often, people who criticize or judge are actually judging parts of themselves. Then they project that on to you. They are insecure or jealous, and they make themselves feel better by putting you down. For example, if someone didn’t have the courage to pursue a career as an artist, they might judge another artist for her ‘poor lifestyle’. Remember, only hurt people, hurt people.

2. They can only win if you let them. Have you ever noticed that when a bully sees that their victim isn’t bothered by the bullying, the bully stops? That’s because negativity feeds off of negativity. As soon as you stop caring about what someone is doing or saying to hurt you, they will stop bothering you.

So, the next time someone comments negatively on a post, says something rude, or gossips about you, turn the other way. It doesn’t matter what they think; stay confident and wear your crown high.

3. There will always be someone you can’t please. Out of 7 billion people in the world, it is going to be impossible to please everyone. No matter how hard you try, there will be some aunt, cousin, high school friend, or colleague who disproves of something in your life. If you keep trying to please everyone, you will inevitably fail, while also exhausting yourself in the process. You can’t win this situation.

Instead of trying to keep everyone happy, focus on pleasing the only person you CAN please: YOU. Do what you want to do!

4. Life is too short. Life is too short to worry about what others think about you. If you try to please everyone around you, you won’t have any time or energy left to do what you want. Do you want to reach the end of your life full of regret and resentment because you were worried too much about other people? Of course not!

Remember, there will always be critics in your life. When someone ‘hates’ on you, the best way to deal with the situation is to be the bigger person, show them empathy, forgive them, and move on with your life in the way you want.

Instead of worrying about haters, focus on being the person who lifts others up. Be the light of love and encouragement in the darkness of haters and critics. Vibrate higher.

In Arrested Development, Michael Bluth is trying to get money for the family. His dad, George Bluth Sr., is in jail and the kids are now attempting to run the family business and keep the family together, which is hilarious and a complete shitshow. His dad is always saying, “there’s always money in the banana stand” which is always taken as a joke. The banana stand was a little side business that the family owned called Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand. It was on Oceanside Wharf.

Low and behold, his dad wasn’t kidding when he said that there’s always money in the banana stand.

Michael ends up burning down the banana stand and, in the process, $250,000 that was lined inside the walls of it.

There are three lessons we can learn from this:

1. Save some portion of your money for a rainy day. You never know when you’ll need it.

2. Don’t just put it all in the banana stand! Someone can come and burn it to the ground. And besides, putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea.

3. When someone tells you something the first time, believe them.

One of the greatest gifts that you can give to those you love is being fully open and present in your interactions with them. Like most other people these days, you’re probably busy and have dozens of obligations demanding your attention. You may often be distracted and only half paying attention when you are interacting with your family and friends.

Not only can this lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings, it can also give your loved ones the impression that you are indifferent or uncaring, which might cause them to pull back from you. Your relationships then suffer because you and your loved ones feel disconnected and isolated from each other, even if you are spending plenty of time together.

Being fully present and open with someone you care about can be as simple as asking them, “How are you really doing?” Then give them your full attention as they respond. Listen to their words, but even more importantly, pay attention to the feelings they are expressing beneath the words. You can learn so much about them just by giving them your full attention as they share their thoughts with you.

Not only will this help them to feel truly heard and supported in the moment, but over time it will help deepen and strengthen your bond with them so that you both end up feeling closer and more connected to each other. Even if you don’t have any specific advice to offer about their current situation, you are at least helping them to feel validated and heard, and you are letting them know that you really do care. In response, your loved ones will probably start reflecting the same level of attention and care back to you, so that your relationship actually becomes stronger and more genuine over time.

While you are deepening your bonds with others, you may also want to consider whether you are giving yourself the same level of attention and support. Check in with yourself regularly. How are you feeling today? Have you been struggling with anything lately? Do you feel overwhelmed, isolated, confused, or lost? Are you being too hard on yourself lately, by overextending yourself or neglecting your self-care?

Give your feelings a voice by expressing them in a journal. Write about the things that are happening in your life, and how you feel about them. By giving yourself permission to get in touch with your feelings and express them, you will feel heard and validated, which can not only help you to move through life’s challenges more smoothly, but also maintain better emotional balance.

During times when you may be facing more difficult or overwhelming challenges, be willing to give yourself the gift of a trusted support network, whether that’s family and friends you can trust, or even a professional coach or therapist who can guide you through your feelings in a healthy way.

Sometimes just knowing that you’ve got someone on your side who really hears you and understands what you’re going through can give you much more confidence in your ability to rise above and overcome any challenges that you may face in life.