I realize there are a ton of ways to help others by spending money. Where it becomes a bit more challenging is helping others without spending a dime. So for this post, I wanted to share something that is very simple but for whatever reason had a huge impact on me.
Growing up in Nebraska, I never experienced this. I’m not sure if it just became a trend recently or if Texas has just always been this way. But the first time I went to a grocery store down here, there were shopping carts all over the parking lot. People would just unload their groceries and leave the cart, most of the time blocking parking spots.
This drove me nuts. I can’t tell you how angry this made me. And the worst was when I would watch somebody do this. The cart return is literally 10 feet away, why can’t they just return it?
And then my wife moved down here. She had a completely different attitude about it. Rather than complaining or getting angry about it, she would just hop out and if she needed the cart, she would just take it. If she didn’t need the cart, she would just put it where it belongs and she would try grabbing another if possible to put back as well. Lastly, if she noticed somebody just finishing unloading their groceries, she would just ask if she could return the cart for them.
This has become kind of a pivotal point in the way I approach issues. Most people just sit back and complain as I did, or think to themselves, “where are the people that get paid to return the carts, I’m not going to do their job for them”. But my wife and her amazing heart showed me an alternative method. Talk about two different perspectives on the same issue.
So there you have it, a simple, free way that you can make a difference by taking the 5 extra seconds to return a stranded cart.