So it’s cold, it’s wet and it’s miserable outside, and you are all tucked up inside a warm house with a nice cup of coffee. Here are some ways that you can get out there and help others:

1. Buy your Big Issue seller a cup of hot chocolate. These people work hard to try and change their circumstances. How many people must walk past before one buys a copy, how demoralising must that be for them?
2. Pick up a piece of litter a day. It is not difficult and it can make a small difference. There is a guy in Wales who decided to clear his town of litter and is now a national hero.
3. Give away an umbrella. Retractable umbrellas are only a few pounds. Buy one from a cheap shop and carry it in your bag. When you see someone struggling in the rain give them an umbrella – the effect on the person will be massively more than the few pounds you spent.
4. Send a handwritten note to someone to say thank you or give encouragement – this is so much more personal than online communication and shows the person that you are really thinking about them.
5. Take a step back. Next time you are in a queue let the person behind you go in front of you – give them the gift of a little more time.
6. Guerrilla garden for your community. No one needs know that you are doing this, just pick a neglected area of land in your community and tidy it up or plant it. If you have a bigger project recruit others to help.
7. Buy extra, make a box and donate. Plenty of Charities run Christmas appeals where they send boxes of food or children’s packs to those in need. Make it a habit to buy an extra item each time you shop to fill up one of these boxes.

Pay it Forward can be a little cloying or sugary. To me it does two things. Firstly it helps someone else, usually in a small way and quite often in an anonymous way. This is important to me, as I don’t really want thanks; just to know that I did something worthwhile. Secondly as a self-improvement tool, it helps me constantly change and move myself onwards by thinking outside of my day-to-day life. I don’t do sugary, but I can stand in the rain and hand out umbrellas!