In September last year, I was on a Zoom call with a student. I had been coaching him on the GAMSAT (the medical school entrance exam) and it was our last session before his sitting.

“Before we finish,” I added, aware we had run overtime, “I just wanted to say that you should believe in yourself. You know more than you think and are more capable than you imagine. You can do this.” I smiled, trying to look as genuine as possible. He smiled back, said thanks and the call ended.

After his exam, I didn’t hear from him for over a year. I had no idea how he went, or where he was now. I assumed he didn’t do as well as he hoped and was reluctant to let me know.

To my surprise, he reached out to me last month.

Firstly, he did well in the GAMSAT and was due to sit medical school interviews very soon. I was glad to hear of his success and the small role I had to play in it.

But more importantly, he revealed his struggles outside of tutoring. How for most of his life, he felt worthless at school, was belittled by his parents and often struggled with depression. He was dealing with all this during our Zoom calls together.

I was blown away. I remembered him as a clever, studious student with a witty sense of humour. He always presented himself neatly and never arrived late. A part of me doubted this was the same person.

Then he told me that the last thing I said to him was the first time he had ever been affirmed. That the idea that somebody believed in him meant a lot – more than any amount of tutoring could’ve ever achieved. His self esteem was now at an all time high, and wanted to thank me for my encouragement.

I had never thought much about my final message – it was something I told all my students before their exam. It was a small act of kindness and effortless to say. But it helped change my friend’s life around.

The fun thing about words is we never know how they will be received. Abundant praise may do nothing for a person, yet a tiny piece of encouragement may turn another’s life around (this is also true for destructive language). What we hope one understands is rarely what one interprets.

Many people wonder how they can do good in the world. Here’s one suggestion. Default to small acts of kindness whenever and wherever you can. It doesn’t matter how small you perceive them to be. You never know what good might turn out.