98: Small Acts, Big Impact: How Your Kindness Has Extraordinary Impact

You don't realize it, but that one compliment you gave someone? It might have stopped them from quitting. That smile during class? It might be the reason they came back. That moment of vulnerability where you were authentically yourself? It gave someone else permission to be real too.

The science is clear: small acts of kindness and encouragement trigger a chain reaction. But most of us underestimate the power of our words and actions because we never get to see where the ripple goes.

In this powerful episode of Group X Appeal, Kimberly and Terry dive deep into the psychology behind small positive acts and explore how mindful communication creates lasting change - often in people we'll never know about. 

Discover why encouragement is one of the most powerful tools for preventing people from quitting, how a single gesture can inspire an entire chain reaction through a community, and why being intentional about how we show up matters more than perfection.

Through real stories from group fitness, they reveal the five ways your small acts of kindness can create ripples and help people show up for themselves and others. 

Learn why these seemingly ordinary moments create extraordinary impact, and how understanding the psychology behind human connection transforms how you show up in every interaction.

Because somewhere right now, someone is remembering something kind you said or did. And it's changing everything.

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Stay Connected with Kimberly:
- @kimberlyspreenglick on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
- email: kimberly@theinspiredlifeuniversity.com
- website: www.theinspiredlifeuniversity.com

Stay Connected with Terry:
- @terryshorter on Instagram & Facebook
- email: terry@rippedplanet.com
- website: www.rippedplanet.com

Transcript

What if the smile you gave someone today kept them from quitting? And what if the encouragement you barely remember saying became something that they never forgot? The truth is we rarely realize the impact we're having. So today let's talk about what we call the ripple effect.

Kimberly & Terry' (00:21)
Hey, welcome to Group X Appeal. I am Kimberly Spreen Glick. And I'm Terry Shorter. We're so glad you're here. So glad. You know what? You know, one of the most beautiful things about Group X is that the transformation doesn't stop with the individual. No. It spreads. Yeah. One instructor inspires one participant who then inspires perhaps a spouse or partner, who inspires a coworker, who inspires a child. It just goes on and on. It does. That's called the ripple effect. Right.

And most of us never get to see how far that ripple actually travels. So today we're talking about the extraordinary power of just those ordinary moments or what we would feel at the at the time are ordinary moments, but it just means so much more for sure. So we're going to give you five ways that you may be inspiring others without even knowing. And this goes for not just group exercise instructors, but

Participants as well, those group X like lovers. Yeah. Right. So this applies to you too. Yeah. So you want to start this off? Doing something that's that's part of a community is we have that human connection and we get to interact with each other. So yeah, I'll gladly kick it off. So the first way that we can inspire each other is simply this is gonna seem so basic, but showing up. When you consistently show up, like people notice that.

And I'm sure you've noticed in classes that if someone is is typically there, let's say you have a class every Wednesday or every Monday Wednesday and they're there every Monday Wednesday and then one week they're not. We notice. And them consistently showing up is incredibly inspiring. So by you being consistent, by showing up for your community, not just as an instructor, I mean we kind of have to show up. We get to show up. We get to show up. That's a good catch. But the class, you know, we're there to teach the class.

As participants of the class, you know, there are a hundred other things you could go choose to do. At least. And so choosing to come into that class, just remember by making that choice, you're contributing to the success of the whole. You know, we often say we're stronger together. Yeah. So you showing up matters. And when you are consistent with your attendance in these classes, you are very, very likely inspiring others to do the same. Yeah, absolutely. the second thing.

is encouraging one person. That's it. again, like can't kind of dovetailing off of what Kimberly is talking about, just by you showing up, that's all it takes is just to encourage one person, right? one sentence perhaps, one compliment, one high five, one smile. Yeah. Right? Simple as that. Yeah. Can literally change the trajectory of someone's entire day. You just have absolutely no idea what they're going through.

And that could literally light up their life just by sharing something, just acknowledging the fact that they showed up. Yeah. Right. So that's one of the things I love about getting to come to class, right? And seeing all the people, it definitely makes my day. A hundred percent. By seeing seeing everyone's smiley faces, even you know, if it was tough for them to get there, challenging, which a lot of times it really is, right? But that's ninety-nine.

Point nine percent of the battle is just showing up and then everything else just seems to fall into place. That's true. And I've seen more times than I can count where in the interaction between two people, like someone saying to another, Great job, or like in a cycle class last week, I noticed one member said to another, I love riding next to you. I feel I feel so motivated riding next to you because you're such a strong rider. And just little things like that. And and you could see the other

Remembered, like light up. Yeah. Light up. They sit taller, they pedal faster. Both because they were told like basically they did a good job and that they were an encouragement to someone else. And and who doesn't want to be an encourager of other people? So that's really awesome. That's a great gift. So think of ways that you can be an encourager to others. Yeah. And then the next one is just simply choosing joy. You know, the fact of the matter is energy is contagious, attitudes are contagious. And so be careful which one you walk into the room with.

Okay, what kind of energy, what kind of attitude do you walk into the room with? Because it will spread negativity spreads, positivity spreads. So, one of my favorite things I heard one time, our friend Petra, Petra Colbert was giving a talk one time. One of our guests. She's been one of our guests, yes. And she had said in a talk one time, she's like, you know, the really cool thing about joy is that it's like jelly. You can't spread it around without getting some on yourself. So beautiful.

So when you show up with the joy, when you show up happy to be there, you know, kind of like we talked about as instructors, we get to be there. Well, when you show up as a participant and feeling like I get to be here, as opposed to I have to be here, like I get to be here and feel the joy for the fact that you could have chosen other things. You chose to be here and now you're gonna get a great workout and have a great experience and be among this amazing community. Like there's so much joy in that. So when you can come into the room with that kind of mindset, that kind of attitude, that's what we want to to catch on.

For others. Yeah. Choose joy. Choose joy. It's not that difficult, right? Simple, simple choice. Maybe not always easy. No. But simple. No. Definitely not easy, but for sure simple. And hopefully when you when you show up to these classes as again, as challenging sometimes as it may be for me, it's a challenging to get to our classes where we teach.

Because it's on the third floor and we have to take the stairs. Seriously. So I'll be honest. First, I'm not very joyful. Yeah, it's the hardest part. The hardest part of our entire class is making it up the three flights of stairs. Right. But once I catch my breath, the joyful's back. The joy is back. The joy's back. Because you made it. Yeah. But it was a challenge. So the fourth thing is being authentic, right? That can absolutely have that that strong, you know, enduring and lasting ripple effect as well.

people they you've heard us say this before in other episodes, they don't need perfection. They really do not. They need permission, permission to struggle, permission to laugh, just permission to learn, permission to grow. All these things happen in this group exercise environment, which is amazing. But it's going to start with your authenticity, right? Being yourself, not trying to be like some other.

you know, fitness pro or influencer that you see on social media. Be yourself. Yeah. Right. That's how we connect. We c we connect through the truth of who we really are. Yeah, in one of the episodes you said that we actually connect through our crack. Cracks. Cracks. Cracks. Right. Plural. Plural. Yes. What's wrong with our cracks being our imperfections, thank you so much. Thank you for clarifying Kim Release Ring.

Why you say it like that? Terrence. Okay, mom. All right. We got one more way that you may already be inspiring others. And that is just truly living the lifestyle. yeah. You know, we talk about group X being a lifestyle and the fact that we come together to live a healthy way of life as a community. But you know, your actions overall, inside the class and outside the class, they

They speak louder than any words ever could. And people are always watching, you know, because we are in community together. So especially when you don't realize it, you may be making an impact on others just based on, you know, when you stop at the cafe, what you choose to grab after your workout, what's your post-workout snack or meal, or you know, how you carry yourself outside of the class. So we inspire people by how we show up inside the class through through our joy and through be encouraging words.

And then just continuing to live a healthy way of life in the class and beyond, I think is a really, really powerful thing. Yeah. and don't feel guilty if you see if you're an instructor, or even if you're a participant too, and you see either a fellow class member, your instructor, or if you're an instructor, you see a class member. Let's say you're a Costco. I don't know if this has ever happened to you or the supermarket you ever happened to him, that's why I brought it in. Go on. Where you run into them and

The first thing this is, wow, I didn't recognize you with your clothes on, which is kind of embarrassing. That's the first thing. The second thing is they look in your basket to see what you're eating, always. Right. but that's going back to being authentic too at the same time. Yes, you can live the, you know, the lifestyle, be the example, be the leader. Yes, but by the at the same time, be yourself. So don't be ashamed, don't feel guilty if you've got bomb pops and and and chocolate bars.

I don't know, just goodies. Goodies. Goodies. Goodies. If you have goodies in your cart, no problem. Moderation must be right. Absolutely. Moderation. Absolutely. So again Life's too short not to have a chocolate chip cookie every now and then. Yeah. Yeah. I'll always mention to our class, like, for example, as we're shooting this today, it is National Sugar Cookie Day today. You were waiting for somewhere to plug that. Listen, I just plugged. I just did sponsored by Suzy's cakes.

And it's also National Ice Cream Month. Ooh. So, right? I'm trying to be the example. I didn't even know that. Yeah, but now you know. Now I know. Now I can't unknow it. You and Tyler today. Ice cream. It's hot here today, y'all. It is. But you know, you may not ever know the life that you've changed through some of these things that we just shared today. But do not underestimate the power of just simply showing up.

As we get closer to episode 100, we are collecting your stories. Did an instructor change your life? Did a class help you through grief, perhaps, maybe depression, a divorce, an illness, or simply help you become the person that you are today? Please do share your group X story. we will share the link in the show notes. If you're on Instagram, it's in the group X Appeal bio. Yes. And just answer

One or a few questions just to share a little bit about your experience in group X. And we would love to be able to share, give you a shout-out on episode 100. It's coming up. It's coming up. It's crazy. I know. It says triple digits. Triple digits. How did that happen? We're still friends. We're hey. Really good friends. Even better friends. Actually better friends. Actually. Yes. In actuality. Most definitely. Subsequently.

See, inside joke, just like we talked about in the last episode. If you've if you've watched all the episodes up till now, you probably got it. We need a prize for someone who's watched every single episode. Can imagine? Yeah, if you've done that, please let us know because you could possibly get a brand new car. Look under your seat. Or sugar cookie, because it's National Sugar Cookie Day. Absolutely. Less expensive. But just still is good.

We so appreciate you listening. If if you are brand new to Group X Appeal, welcome, catch up. We've had so many episodes and so much fun along the way. We'd love for you to catch up with us. and if you've been with us since day one, we cannot thank you enough. And please do spread the word, share the good word about Group X Appeal. We love being able to come together and share this inspiration with you. Yes, we do. So until next time, again, please share your story. We cannot wait to share yours. I'm Terry Shorter.

I'm Kimberly Spreen Glit. And all and as always, we encourage you to make it a fantastic day. And why? boy, because it is a fantastic day to have. It sure is. Much love. Peace out.