Leave a surprise note for someone.

Remember how you felt the last time someone left you a surprise note?

Whether it was your spouse, your parent, or just a friend; there’s something special about finding a friendly note when you least expect it.

No matter how good your mood was before you got the note, it got better afterwards.

A few years ago, I bought some really inexpensive plastic hearts at a dollar store for Valentine’s Day (above). I put candies in them for my wife. However, I still have them and periodically, I will put short, fun notes in them and hide them in various places around the house for her. It might take weeks before she finds them – and I’m sure we’re still missing some that were never retrieved. I don’t tell her. As she stumbles upon them, it brightens her mood and mine (because I’ll hear her surprised laugh or “Aww, that’s so sweet!).

Why not try it yourself and watch what happens to your mood?  (No, it doesn’t have to be a romantic note.)

Examples of what you could do:

• Write an affectionate short note on a piece of paper and leave it in your partner or spouses’s shoe so he or she will find it unexepectedly
• Send a giant smiley emoticon (with nothing else) to a friend via email.
• Place post-its with fun thoughts on the computer monitors of co-workers
• When you pay for something via credit card, write a short note under your signature

Today  leave a note for someone to give them a smile. It will come back to you, I promise.