Going the Extra Mile

Matt Collamer

I’ve had one of those weeks.

My aunt passed away a month or so ago. I was checking messages on my phone at lunch one day this week and heard her voice. That hit me pretty hard.

I’ve been on a writing deadline for the past few weeks and haven’t had a day off in … well, a while. I don’t even know how long. So, I’m dragging. If I owe you an email or phone call, I apologize. I’ll catch up one of these days.

My cat has a recurring non-life-threatening issue that crops up from time to time, so I had to take her to the vet Monday. Nothing major. But when she hurts, I hurt. She seems to be on the mend, so that makes me happy.

I have some heavier stuff going on, too. But we all do, right? 

As I was leaving the gym yesterday morning, I held the door open for a woman who thanked me. 

“Have a good workout,” she said. 

That was unexpected. 

I saw another woman coming out of the gym, so I continued to hold the door open for her. She couldn’t possibly have heard the previous woman. 

“Thanks, have a nice workout.”  

I thanked her and entered the gym with a little extra pep in my step. It’s crazy how just one seemingly throwaway line can make a difference—especially since I’m usually not one for small talk. 

But for two people to say virtually the same thing? That just seemed weird. In a good way.

All of us have opportunities to be kind, even to people we don’t know. Actually following through and doing so can make a real difference. It certainly did with me.

Encourage a stranger today or this weekend. As someone who doesn’t do small talk, I’m not bursting with suggestions for ways to do that. But maybe going one step beyond what a stranger expects would be a great place to start.