Being Kind Is Good For You

We need to talk about happiness.

Happiness is something that often gets overlooked, especially amongst some professionals and the business community. However we know this much: folks who report higher levels of happiness also tend to be more resilient, creative and productive, whilst at the same time having lower levels of stress and anxiety. Happier sales teams consistently outperform their less happy colleagues or competitors.

In other words, happiness hits the bottom line. But where does it come from and how can we cultivate it?

People who perform acts of kindness measure as being happier. This simple fact might well be a reason to consider being kinder.

Now, you may protest that this must only be true of those people who feel kind anyway, and then go off and do the good deeds. Well, you’d be mistaken. Studies have shown that those people who deliberately perform acts of kindness just because they want to be happier still get the benefits. You might start out doing kind things for selfish reasons, but it still works!

But how big do your acts of kindness need to be?

I’m not suggesting that you donate one of your kidneys to a stranger. We are talking about everyday minor acts such as letting somebody out in traffic. Every day we have so many of these tiny opportunities, and taking just a few of them each day will ultimately lead to increased levels of happiness for you.

You don’t need to take my word for any of this. Just give it a go and see what happens in your experience. No matter how grumpy, stressed, anxious or fed-up you feel, decide each day to do several small acts of kindness and then notice what happens for you. Why not keep a note of the little things you do each day (we’d love to hear your ideas), and see if it makes a difference.