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Never put off ’til tomorrow what you can do today. Tomorrow never comes. Today is the present, a gift that you have been given, why not use it to the best of your ability?

So often we put things off for another day, but the trouble is, life moves on, the opportunity of another day may not come. Then what happens? You are full of remorse for what might have been.

It’s a sad fact, that in spite of our good intentions, the often very small but important things in life are are pushed onto the back burner as being unimportant.

When did you last say I love you? or thank you? Or pay someone a compliment? Are you really so wrapped up in your own little world that you cannot spare a thought, or a kind word to someone?

It’s the little things in life that mean a lot to others. By making the smallest of gestures you can make a big difference to those around you. Consideration doesn’t have to cost a lot in time or money, it really is the thought that counts.

Remember that what goes around comes around, what you give out in life will return to you in abundance. Don’t put it off ’till tomorrow, the sooner you give, the sooner you will receive.

Do you find it difficult to give thanks? Does the generosity of others embarrass you? Ask yourself why is this so? Do you feel perhaps that you are undeserving of the gift, the offer of help? Or the compliment? It may even be that you feel unable to, or forced to reciprocate.

There really should be no need to feel this way. To give thanks, to accept a compliment with grace, or to show gratitude for an offer of help, is in fact a gift in itself.

When someone makes you a gift, no matter how large or small, it makes them feel good. Studies into brain activities have shown that the act of giving, increases the level of feel- good hormones in the giver.

You know how good you feel when you are thanked for your offer of help to someone, when you warmly congratulate and give praise, when you pay a compliment, or give a gift?

It follows then, that when the recipient acknowledges and gives thanks, the feel-good factor is raised even higher.

This surely means in effect, that by thanking, you are actually giving a gift in return, and as a result, your own feel-good hormones will rise.

Could this be why the altruistic people among us are also the among the happiest? It’s a bit like laughter and smiling, it’s infectious.