Hi guys! Welcome to Episode 635 of the Wildly successful Lifestyle podcast! I’m Heidi, and I gotta say, it feels good to be with you today. If you’re new, Super happy to meet you! And if we’ve been hanging together for a while, you know we’re gonna figure out a little something good today and I also know how grateful I am for you. We are making the world better by being the best version of us and that starts in our head with the thoughts we have about anything! So thank you for listening and sharing and giving me a 5 star review if you are loving the episodes, it means a lot to me.
The other day, I was driving the back way through my neighborhood here in Memphis. You know those winding streets with the big trees and kids playing outside? I was heading to dinner with a friend, and it was around 4:30—still light out, that golden afternoon glow. I pull up to one of those little intersections, and there they are: five adorable kids, boys and girls, probably seven or eight years old. They’re standing there, pumping their arms up and down like they’re signaling big rigs on the highway. You remember doing that as a kid, right? That universal “honk your horn” move. They’re grinning ear to ear, eyes wide with hope, just begging every car to give ’em that beep.
The two cars in front of me? Nothing. They just rolled through without a honk. I was like, “Come on, guys! What’s the harm?” Then it’s my turn at the stop sign. These kids lock eyes with me, all expectant and bouncy. So, what do I do? I wave big, lay on the horn—beep beep!—and oh my gosh, you should’ve seen them. They absolutely erupted. Jumping up and down, hands in the air, squealing with pure, unfiltered delight. Big smiles, high-fives all around. It was like they’d won the lottery. As I drove off, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. “Well, that was an easy little win,” I thought. Made their day in two seconds flat, and honestly? It made mine too. That warm fuzzy feeling stuck with me all the way to dinner.
And that’s what got me thinking about today’s topic: how bringing joy to other people can be the sneaky, surefire way to bring joy right back to yourself. It’s like this beautiful boomerang effect, right? You toss out a little kindness, and bam—it circles back and hits you square in the feels. And trust me, it’s not about grand gestures or saving the world in one swoop. Nope, it’s those tiny, effortless wins that add up, just like that honk did for those kids. We’ve all been there—rushing through our days, heads down, missing those easy opportunities to light someone up. But when you seize them? Magic.
That moment with the kids reminded me how, a lot of the time, it’s really the smallest things that make people happy. Take my neighbors, for example—they’re this sweet elderly couple in their eighties. She’s always out gardening, but during that last snowstorm we had (you guys remember that mess, right?), she slipped and broke her back. Brutal. She’s been in the hospital and then rehab for three weeks now, and her husband, who’s 84, is holding down the fort solo. Handling the dog, trying to manage meals—and let’s be honest, he doesn’t cook. Like, at all. We went and visited her in the rehab and she told us her poor husband was living off of Lean Cuisines. The vision of that broke my heart. Now he’s a tough ole bird so he wouldn’t want us to feel too sorry for him, which I love about him, and is also inspiring to me. But even tough ole birds appreciate kindness. So, The other night, Eric and I had grilled out. Chicken thighs, wings, veggies, baked beans, the works. We had leftovers, so we plated some up, popped it in a container, and just dropped it off on his porch. We sent him a text letting him know it was coming and to grab it off his porch. The next thing we know we get a card on our front door saying thank you from him and his dog, I hope that means he shared.. But you know it felt good to do that, when we visited his wife in rehab we reminded her that we were here and anything they need, to please let us know, She got tears in her eyes and said thank you. It felt good to help them, and I know that they would do it for us too. Besides bringing them a little joy, We felt More connected. It’s like, in helping them, we were filling our own cups too.
Why does that work? Why does sprinkling joy on others bounce back so hard like a boomerang? I think it’s because we’re wired for connection. In this crazy, fast-paced world with social media scrolls, to-do lists that never end—we forget how good it feels to just… be human with each other. Psychologists talk about this stuff all the time. There’s even research on “helper’s high”—that rush of endorphins you get from acts of kindness. It’s like your brain’s way of saying, “Yes! More of that!” And it’s contagious. Those kids at the intersection? They probably went home buzzing, telling their parents about the lady who honked. My neighbors? I know they will pay it forward next time someone needs it, she’s always good about that anyway.
And a little side note here, Those two are like I said both of them are tough ole birds, they like to take care of themselves and don’t want to be seen as needing too much help and I get it, but this is a good reminder that allowing other people to help is a gift to them as well. It feels really good, so sometimes let them give that gift, it feels good all the way around.
I mean We all have those days when joy feels miles away. You’re stressed, overwhelmed, maybe even a little grumpy. The last thing you want is to go out of your way for someone else. But flip the script: what if that’s exactly the move you need to make? You could Start small. Like, microscopic. Smile at a stranger. Let someone merge in traffic without the eye roll. Or, if you’re feeling bold, bake cookies for the office (I would make my listeners cookies —ha, if only I could beam them through the airwaves). I’ve been making a concerted effort to go a little out of my way for someone intentionally, and it really does shift things. It’s not about being perfect or saintly; it’s about realizing that joy isn’t something you chase alone. It’s a team sport. And sometimes we think we have to wait for the perfect moment or the day when you’re feeling amazing to do it….but often it’s those days when you need to feel seen, that making someone else feel seen fills that hole in just the right way. Ive often heard give the love you wish for. I’ve seen that with my big sister who hasn’t had an easy time in the last few years, losing her husband and having a stroke before that. She lives alone and that can be really hard and lonely. I remember recently I called and she was having a bit of a rough day and I reminded her how she has gotten herself out of those before was by lifting someone else’s spirits. Later that day she told me she was taking lunch to a lady who isn’t able to leave her house and had just surgery. She called me after she took her lunch and said I do feel good now, in fact that’s how we came about doing the luncheon, it felt so good for her to do something nice for someone else that she decided to host a luncheon for my cousin who was in town. Literally it made everyone’s day. We will be talking about that day for a while because it brought so much joy to every one there. See what I mean? It’s a Boomerang.
So, here’s my challenge to you this week: hunt for those easy wins. Look for the kids waving for a honk, the neighbor who could use a meal, the friend who needs a check-in. Make it a game. Track how it makes you feel. Because the truth is, bringing joy to others isn’t just nice—it’s pretty small self-care. We are actually all in this together and I don’t know about you but it feels good to know that. Share this with someone who has lifted your spirit lately. I love you guys, I’ll talk to you in a few days!
