It's easy to get lost in our own summer plans. But what if the best part of your summer isn't about you at all?
The sun is shining. The days are long. We’re all trying to pack in as much fun as we can before the season slips away. It’s a time for barbecues vacations and soaking up the warmth. Yet sometimes amidst all the activity we can feel disconnected. We get so wrapped up in our own schedules and to-do lists that we forget to look up and see the people around us.
I know that feeling of being stuck in your own head. I’ve been there.
How Looking Outward Helped Me Look Inward
For years my world was incredibly small. It revolved around my own unhealthy habits. I was caught in a cycle of binge eating drinking and avoiding any real effort. I felt trapped by my own laziness and poor choices. My focus was entirely on myself. My comfort my cravings my unhappiness. It was a lonely and destructive way to live.
A huge part of my journey to losing over 110 pounds and finding a balanced life wasn't just about changing what I ate or how I moved. It was about changing where I put my focus. When I started to intentionally look for ways to help or encourage others something shifted inside me. Serving someone else even in a tiny way pulled me out of my own self-pity. It gave me a sense of purpose beyond my own struggles.
Kindness became a powerful tool. It reminded me that I was part of a community. It showed me that my actions could have a positive impact no matter how small. It was a way to practice my faith and connect with God by serving His people. It helped me heal.
This summer I want to invite you to try the same thing. Let’s spread a little light. It doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. True kindness rarely is.
20 Simple Acts of Kindness for Summer
Here are some simple practical ideas to get you started. You don’t have to do them all. Just pick one that speaks to you and see how it feels.
- Leave a cold bottle of water or a sports drink in a cooler on your porch for your mail carrier or delivery drivers. They work hard in the heat.
- Offer to water a neighbor's plants while they are on vacation. It’s a small task that takes a huge weight off their mind.
- Pay for the ice cream of the person behind you in line. It’s a sweet surprise on a hot day.
- When you’re at the beach or a park take five minutes to pick up any trash you see. Leave the space cleaner than you found it.
- Give a genuine compliment to a stranger. It could be about their smile their outfit or just their positive energy.
- Leave a generous tip and a kind note for your server at an outdoor cafe. They often deal with demanding customers under the sun.
- Mow an elderly or busy neighbor’s lawn. Don't ask for anything in return.
- Bring a box of popsicles to a local playground and share them with the kids and parents there.
- Write a positive online review for a small local business you love. Your words can make a real difference to their success.
- Hold the door open for someone and give them a real smile. Don't just go through the motions.
- Text a friend you haven’t heard from in a while. Just say you were thinking of them and hope they’re having a good summer.
- Ask the cashier at the grocery store how their day is going. Then truly listen to their answer.
- Let someone with fewer items go ahead of you in the checkout line.
- Drop off fresh produce from your garden or the farmer’s market at a neighbor’s doorstep.
- Thank a sanitation worker. These men and women do a tough job that we all benefit from.
- Leave a book you’ve already enjoyed on a park bench with a note inside that says "Free to a good home."
- If you see someone struggling to carry their beach chairs or cooler offer a hand.
- Send a simple postcard to a family member who lives far away. It’s more personal than a text.
- Organize a small potluck on your street or in your apartment building. Food brings people together.
- Pray for someone. You don't have to tell them. Just hold them in your heart and ask for good things for them.
It’s Not About Grand Gestures
None of these things will change the world overnight. That’s not the point. The point is to change a moment. For you and for someone else.
Kindness isn't about being noticed or getting a thank you. It’s a quiet act of service. It’s about recognizing the humanity in each person we meet. For me it’s a direct reflection of my faith. It’s about treating others with the love and grace that I believe God shows to all of us. It’s about making the world a tiny bit better one small act at a time.
These simple actions build momentum. They create ripples. You brighten someone’s day and maybe they’ll be inspired to brighten someone else’s. That’s how we start to build a better existence. Together.
So I’ll ask you this. As you go into the rest of your summer which small act of kindness will you choose to share this week?
