Every single year you can ask people what their New Year’s Resolution is, most will answer with ‘losing weight’ or ‘giving up smoking’.
Every single year you can ask people what their New Year’s Resolution is, most will answer with ‘losing weight’ or ‘giving up smoking’. Sometimes that will even be your response. Even if these aren’t your aims for the next 365 days to come, your answer will more than likely revolve around yourself in some way; it will be something that YOU want to do for YOURself, something that YOU want to change for YOURself. There isn’t anything wrong with this at all, sometimes everyone needs to do something for themselves, but every now and again you will come across someone who wants something a little bit different; something for someone else.
Frankie Murray is one of those people. For every single day of 2013 she is striving to do something nice whether this is for someone she knows or not. It means that she will get to the end of her day and know she has done something to brighten another person’s day and not just her own.
I spoke to Frankie and asked her to explain a little bit about the reasoning behind her decisions. She told me that she “wanted to do something different for 2013.” Frankie also admitted that she is a very soppy person (I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this) and confesses that she has always been “inspired by the work that so many charities and organisations do to help people every day.” Frankie also modestly told me that “it’s not a new idea or one that is particularly ground-breaking” and assured me that she simply wants to be nice and do something for others. This in some ways is true, but can you really downplay the good act that she has set up for herself?
As with most people, motivation is key in any project, especially one that spans an entire year! When asked if this was the reason that Frankie had chosen to publish her good deeds of each day on the popular blogging website Tumblr, she informed me that she believed that “it’s easy to stop doing a resolution if nobody knows about it” and she figured that the more people that are aware of what she is doing, the more people that would be wanting to hear about it daily and this added pressure could be used to push herself to keep going. In Frankie’s own words: “So far so good!”
I’m sure that when Frankie set up her resolution she never expected to gain so much publicity, but as one day has rolled over into the next, the word has spread. It is human nature to see something good such as this project and want to join in and so of course this one is no exception. I asked if she was hoping that as more people visit her Tumblr, they will also be inspired to follow in her footsteps. “Absolutely, and so far it has!” she enthusiastically answered. “A few people have said they want to do it too, which is amazing. The more niceness out there the better.” I don’t think that anyone can argue with that statement!
The online interest that Frankie is gaining isn’t just helping to motivate the rest of the world though, it is also acting as a way of ensuring that the project continues. Frankie has “been completely blown away by the response” that she has received. Despite this she still doesn’t quite believe that she is worthy of the “kind and wonderful feedback” that she has received, although many would beg to differ, she has however admitted that it is “nice to have people to share the exciting stuff with” and she is “so grateful to have such wonderful and supportive friends in the online world.” Nothing can really motivate you quite as much as feeling as though the world is behind you, can it?
Now you would assume that a project of this scale would require some level of planning, although naturally sometimes it is the spontaneous moments in life that are the most rewarding. This led me to wondering if Frankie had a plan for her resolution or if she was using more of a ‘decide on the day’ approach. She informed me that she mostly does “decide on the day.” She then went on to say that occasionally she “knows of something that will work for a particular day in advance” but that she does “want to start being more organised and get out there more.”
Frankie has even planned to create a “Nice Calendar” to document ideas for the future. In order to do this, it is likely that she will need a little bit of help and so it is a good thing that Frankie has decided that she is open to any ideas and suggestions that people are willing to offer! She has already had some “great recommendations for causes and organisations” that she could work with in the future and of course she is “always on the hunt for more. There are so many brilliant charities and community schemes out there” that need as much help as possible and Frankie’s aim is to “reach as far as possible.” She even seems to be focusing on a motto to keep her going, as she uses Aerosmith to enlighten me that she really doesn’t want to “miss a thing!”
You heard her then, any suggestions for a charity, a good deed or an act of kindness that could make it into one of the 52 weeks? Send it Frankie’s way, she is ready and waiting.
Finally, I wanted to know if this was likely to be something that we could look forward to seeing in the future as I’m sure this is something that a lot of people have been wondering, and hoping for, even after this year has passed by. Frankie assured me that she would love to carry it on. She told me that she is “hoping the whole experience will continue to grow” and of course she is “keen to stay involved with the charities” that she has been involved in helping so far!
Frankie left me by telling me that she is “so excited to see where #niceonefrankie will go in the next year too!” and she informed me that she “has some big ideas that could make it last for many years to come, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Nice One Frankie can be accessed here and you can follow Frankie on Twitter and keep up with her progress using the hashtag #niceonefrankie.
