Four simple ways to build good karma.

One day last week, when I was rushing to catch my train, the strap on my bag snapped, sending everything careening onto the footpath.

To top it off – it was pouring rain.

I just needed a bird to crap on me to top off that terrible moment. But as I scrambled to pick everything up and make sure my laptop didn’t get soaked, a shadow appeared overhead.

It wasn’t a rogue pigeon; it was a lovely lady with a giant umbrella. She held it over me until I had collected all my belongings and then walked with me to the train station. With a simple act of kindness, that woman made my day, week and even my month. And she probably saved me a few thousand in laptop repairs.

With our screens and feeds constantly full of bad news, it can often feel like there’s not much good in the world. Or at least that there’s nothing we can do on our own to fulfil the old cliché and make the world a better place. But that stranger showed me that is not always the case.

There are plenty of things – big and small – that you can do to create a bit of good karma.

Complete a random act of kindness.

While we can’t all hang around on street corners with golf umbrellas like my personal hero, there are plenty of other ways to complete a random act of kindness. Have you ever had someone give you a compliment that has brightened your entire day? Or have you ever had a co-worker surprise you with your favourite coffee order? It’s a great feeling, and one that is likely to make you want to pass it on. It’s the cheapest, quickest and easiest way to create good karma.

Make ethical decisions.

It’s rare that a daily decision could make a huge difference in someone else’s life but when it comes to choosing where to buy your daily coffee or indulge your sweet tooth – it can. Chocolateria San Churro already offers customers an excellent cup of Fairtrade coffee and have now expanded their Fairtrade commitment to their chocolate.

San Churro is the first chocolate café chain in Australia to commit to the Fairtrade Cocoa Program, meaning the cocoa used in their chocolate has been ethically and sustainably sourced. So every churro, hot chocolate and chocolate ice cream sundae you devour is helping to improve the lives of cocoa farmers in developing countries by providing them with a fair and stable source of income as well as money to invest in community projects of their choice.

Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand CEO, Molly Harriss Olson says, “Fairtrade is all about doing business better and fairer. In the case of our Fairtrade Cocoa Program, it’s also a good excuse to eat more of what you love, and feel good about it.”

So something as simple as choosing where to get your chocolate fix, and walking into one of San Churro’s 51 stores around the country, can have ongoing positive effects for so many people. That’s something we should all be happy to get our mouths around.

Pay it forward.

For anyone who has seen the Haley Joel Osment movie — you’ll know what this concept is. For everyone else, it’s about repaying a good deed to others rather than back to the original benefactor. One way of doing this is to donate blood.

Currently only one in 30 people give blood but one in three people will need a donation in their lifetime. Your one donation can help at least three people who’ve been involved in accidents and emergencies as well as those suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses.  And it can easily be done on your lunch break.

Share your time.

We all lead incredibly busy lives with work, social activities, exercise and keeping our homes in relative order. But we’re actually lucky to be able to do these “stressful” things when so many people can’t. So take a small bit time out of that schedule to help others.

Spend half an hour reading to underprivileged kids on the phone through the Smith Family, volunteer for a weekend shift at an Oxfam store or throw jewellery party to fundraise for Destiny Rescue. There are thousands of charities that need volunteers to help accomplish their important work.

Although it feels like as individuals we can’t do much good for the world, these simple good deeds show that it’s the little things that can make a big difference.

How do you try to make a difference?