Kindness

 Want Happy, Healthy and Successful Kids?
Just Teach them to be Kind.
5 Ways Kindness can Change your Life.

Everyone wants to be happy. And, in today’s materialistic world, many seek happiness in success measured by the things that they own. In this wild pursuit of success, self-centredness is commonplace. But the irony is this: the more we give with sincerity and have a loving concern for others, the happier, healthier and perhaps even wealthier we become. But, acts of kindness done with the self-serving motive of getting something back in return will yield none of these benefits. So, to enjoy the following benefits of kindness, you have to enjoy being kind.

Happier

Numerous studies have shown that kindness begets happiness – not only in the recipient of the kindness, but in the giver and even in those who witness the kind act.

In a study by Elizabeth Dunn of the University of Columbia, people who were given $50 and who spent it on others were significantly happier than those who had spent it on themselves. A Harvard study in 1998 showed that participants who watched a video on Mother Theresa registered lower levels of stress hormones.

So, how does kindness lead to happiness?

When we are able to make a positive difference in someone’s life, no matter how small, a whole load of positive reactions are triggered within ourselves. Immediately, we will feel happy that we’ve done the right thing. We’ll also feel compassion, gratitude for what we have, more confident and in control of our lives. As a result, we become more optimistic of the future. All this makes us see ourselves in better light, and in turn, we become better liked which completes the circle of kindness. And, if the saying that ‘that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ is true, then it’s best to be kind if you want kind children.

Better Relationships

Kindness brings people together, strengthens relationships and forms new ones. More than the bonding that takes place over an act of kindness, helping others makes us better at relationships.

Kindness and empathy go hand in hand. Empathy is the ability to understand the other person’s perspective and emotionally connect with the person. It’s the basis of any good relationship. With empathy, we are more able to be kind.

It’s interesting to note that that a study by Yan Zhang of HuaZhong University in China (published in Personality and Individual Differences, November 2014) found that kindness is more attractive than good looks!

Healthier

Kindness gets the brain to release the happy chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. Dopamine is known to get us taking action towards our goals, serotonin boosts our sense of importance and oxytocin builds trust and healthy relationships. Together, they put us in a better place emotionally, and they reduce stress.

Stress hormones increases inflammation and blood pressure, and reduces immunity. These can cause heart disease, strokes, diabetes and cancer. Researchers have found that kindness reduces the level of stress hormones significantly.

Better at Managing Life’s Difficulties

Life will throw the occasional curve ball. How we manage this makes all the difference in getting back on our feet again.

Kindness helps us better navigate these dark stretches. A study at Brown University in 2004 showed that 40% of the alcoholics who helped other alcoholics were more sober the next year compared with 22% of the alcoholics who did not help others.

Better Performance

Kind people perform better at work and school for so many reasons. Foremost among the reasons is that they are happy. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.” – Quote by Herman Cain, an American author.

Kind people feel good about themselves and this gives them the confidence to achieve their goals and to be creative. Kind people also have better relationships, making it easier for them to work with others to achieve their goals.

On the whole, kind people are more positive and positivity attracts everything good including success.

Kindness has a ripple and profound effect in ways we can’t imagine. Greek author, Aesop (620bc- 524bc) once said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted”. More than 2,000 years later, Scott Adams, American author and cartoonist, adds “Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”

If ever there was a precept to live by, this is one worth spending a life on:

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

-          Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist (1803 – 1882)