I did a nice thing for a stranger today - and it felt great.

Im sorry that this is going to sound like i want some attention, but i wanted to share because i genuinely got a good feeling and someone that couldnt help themselves got what they needed a the exact right time.


I was riding home after popping to the shop for some milk and bread.

There was a small 13 ish year old boy with an upturned biked. I asked if he needed help. (i had worked at a bike ship when i was younger). He said yes and he would be grateful for assistance as he simply wasnt strong enough to fix it.

I unjammed his gears and reset them, i told him that he shouldnt shift down so fast and he was lucky i lived so nearby so i could wash my hands.

And i rode away.

a reply to: Biigs

Good job!

The point of the story you think?

He got some he needed that he couldnt do himself, i didnt really inconvenience myself very much (and actually im still oily lol) but if i haddnt stopped for him he would have dragged that bike home and probably got shouted at by his folks.

a reply to: Biigs

Along with making yourself feel nice, you taught him that its OK to help someone in need and not ask for anything in return. Just imagine of that sort of thing caught on?

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: Biigs

Along with making yourself feel nice, you taught him that its OK to help someone in need and not ask for anything in return. Just imagine of that sort of thing caught on?

As i was riding away, i thought to myself, "i helped him for absolutely no reason, because i had the skill and the time and he needed those moments more than i did, so i gave them to him and solved his problem" and what cost me 2 minutes i will think about for years. And if one day he sees the same thing, maybe he will pay it forward"

I didnt know him, i will never meet him.

But one day i could crash my motor bike and just maybe the guy that doesnt just drive by is him, and he stops and helps me.

I dont expect it to come back around, it was nothing really, bet it felt good and i think the next time i see somone that needs somthing, im going to offer my help regardless of my actual ability to actually help. But i have hands, at the very least i can move things lol

originally posted by: Darkblade71
a reply to: Biigs
Good job!

I'll second that!!

I took the job I have now ... because it's about helping people. Getting paid to do that is nice too (grin).

When I try to help people on the fly, I get the impression that people think I'm weird. Not all of 'em ... but most. Sometimes I wonder if it's the way I look. I've got eyes that make children cry. LOL

a reply to: Biigs

G,day mate. well done.
if we could/would/did a good turn each day for someone/anyone.
we would all be a bit happier and maybe change the world
nar never goin to work . nuke em all and let GOD sort em out.
to be honest mate.
yes you do feel a tad better after rendering a good turn to a stranger
and maybe then they will have a happier day also

I work in IT but i do electrical and basically.... if it has wires in it... its pretty much my job.

I fix things all day every day.

I make things, i postulate how to spend a yearly budget, basically helping people solve their issues is sota my thing.

This is why, i guess, why i wanted to help him. Ive generated a desire to help somone out because i like it. Im not about to put a batman suit on or anything, but if i see somone that needs my skills, im going to help them. And its just as much because they need it as it makes me feel. LOL and that raises a weird question, would a hyperactive batman ninja vigilante be a useful tool against crime or just a horrible crime fueled sexual addiction?

There is not a lot that gives you the kind of feeling you get when you help someone who needed it. I very much enjoy doing things for others like this, I get satisfaction out of knowing that I touched someone outside of my very small circle for just a moment in time.

You did a good thing. You are allowed to enjoy that feeling. I wish more people would realize that doing something like this is a reward in itself and is well worth the few minutes it takes to do it.

Be proud of yourself.

a reply to: Biigs

Good for you!

I believe in random acts of kindness. I always say "pay it forward" and tell them the general idea behind it. I tell them to do at least ONE good deed for another random person if not two or more and to instruct those they help to do the same.

I like to think that every little act of kindness I do, one day will make millions of good deeds.

It feels GREAT!

Good on you

Ok, I know this wont be popular, but here goes.

Why did you feel good?
Why are you posting about it?

I'm just asking because I'm guilty of the same.
I bought food for a homeless guy, then went back to my car. Sitting in my car I felt good about what I'd done. But then I got to asking myself why I felt good about it. The homeless guy was still homeless and tomorrow he'd face the same problems, so why was I feeling all pleased with myself!

Do you see what I'm getting at? I'm sitting in my car feeling all special and yet that poor guy is STILL homeless and tomorrow he'll be hungry again!

Am I feeding my ego off of that guy?

Something seems very wrong to me about feeling good when we help others. Maybe someone else can explain it better than me.

ETA: In op's case its a little different, he DID help the guy and its not like the kid will need help tomorrow.

im posting it because maybe he might do a nice thing for some one else.

I did somthing for him which was easy for me, it didnt slow me down much, i wasnt going anywhere in a hurry. not only didnt it barely inconvenience me, i got the bonus of it feeling really nice afterwards.

originally posted by: Biigs
im posting it because maybe he might do a nice thing for some one else.

I did somthing for him which was easy for me, it didnt slow me down much, i wasnt going anywhere in a hurry. not only didnt it barely inconvenience me, i got the bonus of it feeling really nice afterwards.

I assume that was aimed at me?

I did add "In op's case its a little different, he DID help the guy and its not like the kid will need help tomorrow. "
I was being hailed and had to leave for a moment so didn't make myself very clear.

I agree that in this case it is fine to feel good about helping someone

My problem comes when I think about how we all feel good when (as in my own case) we feel good for helping say...a homeless person.
When I sat in my car and thought about it I came to the conclusion that I shouldn't be feeling all smug with myself, in fact I ought to be mad with rage that in a civilised country a man can find himself homeless and starving on the street, for no reason other than three months earlier he was made redundant.

I think that rage ought to have priority over me feeling all good about myself.

Again, in your situation its different and I apologize for not making it clear.

a reply to: Biigs

Good on you, Biigs. I know that feeling that you're talking about. I'm addicted to it, lol, even if it's just helping somebody who can't reach an item on a top shelf. To me, that's the power of community. We're not all by ourselves really. That thinking is all in our heads. We're a community and it's no sweat off our backs really to do a good turn now and then.

a reply to: VoidHawk

But he will not be hungry today. We can only do what we can, and I don't think there is really anything wrong with feeling good about helping others. You can not give the man a home... you CAN and did give him a meal. That may have been the only meal he's had in days. It may have been the only mean he would have for the next few days. There is good in that and if we only help when we can solve huge problems, then that doesn't leave a lot of room for a lot of folks to help out at all.

The meal you gave the guy could have gave him enough energy to walk in somewhere and ask for a job. He could have been so down on humanity and his life at that moment, suicide may have crossed his mind. Maybe you gave him hope in humanity again. Maybe you just gave him a meal. You never know what one small random act of kindness can do. It may do nothing at all but help in that immediate moment. On the other hand, that one small act could have a domino affect that could turn someone's life around.

I think we feel good when we help others because we are supposed to. It's built into us to want to be useful, helpful, etc.

I do get what you are saying, but you shouldn't underestimate what "helping" means to those you meet along your journey in life. What may be small and insufficient to you, can very well mean the world to another.

S & F, Good for you, That was Really Nice.
I believe in giving random acts of Kindness too.
Every time we go to California, and we park next to a vehicle with a Obama / Biden sticker on the Bumper.
I leave a Razor Blade and a Note, telling the People Not to Cut Their Throats, but explaining to them how to remove that Offensive Sticker! a reply to: Biigs

so i did it again today.

there was this guy 'parked' right by the road enterce, initially i was gunna yell at him but it turned out he had broke down and couldnt move.

so i pushed him onto my drive way and he made some calls and after some jump starts and a seriously dodgy battery rig he was on his way.

turns out hes a nice bloke and we are going out for a beer [on him] next week

I like this.