On a recent flight back to Philadelphia from Dallas, where I had attended an airport customer experience symposium, a most wonderful thing occurred. In the late stages of the boarding process, a woman approached the row where her seat was located and discovered she was in a middle seat, rather than the aisle seat she thought she reserved. This was a totally packed flight, as most flights into Philadelphia the previous day were cancelled due to a storm. Upon this discover, the woman began to panic, for as it turns out she suffers from severe flight anxiety/claustrophobia and that was going to be significantly compounded by sitting in a middle seat. Not a pretty picture.

All the passenger eyes from the surrounding rows were fixed upon her, as her discomfort was quite clear. The plane was packed, and in the final stages of the boarding process, so everyone was pretty much settled into their respective seats waiting for the cabin door to be closed. And looking around, nobody was jumping up to switch places, and given I was in a window seat, my switching with her would offer no relief from her claustrophobia.

Suddenly, the passenger sitting in the aisle seat across from where this distressed passenger’s middle seat was, stood up, and with a smile, offered to change seats with her. A gasp of disbelief was heard not just from this anxious passenger, but from several passengers in the immediate area: Nobody could believe someone would give up an aisle seat for a middle one. The anxious passenger was brought to tears, so blown away was she by this other passenger’s offer, and a wave of joy seemed to flow amongst us other passengers in the area. Smiles erupted across all our faces, not just because we were relieved that the situation was resolved, but also because we felt the joy that resulted from this kind and giving action.

It was a rare moment of giving in an environment where taking seems to be a more common action. More importantly, it demonstrated how powerfully contagious emotions can be. Even more important than that, it demonstrated how actions have emotional consequences, and that by performing actions that generate positive emotions, we can positively impact not just the direct recipient of that action, but others as well. And for those of us who bore witness to this intentional act of kindness, our flight was that much more of a pleasant experience, simply based upon that one action.

Just imagine the impact we could have if we engaged in more intentional acts of kindness on a daily basis. Something to think about, and hopefully, that thought brings you a smile as you imagine the smiles you’ll create on the faces around you.