Kindness = Mental/Physical Health
Strengthen your immune system, self-esteem, and emotional resilience by helping someone.
Kind acts will not only make you feel good about yourself, your acts of kindness may improve your health and happiness.
In my article of May 21st, Gratitude and Your Health, I wrote that daily thoughts of gratitude have been shown to improve both health and happiness, strengthening the immune system and increasing optimism. Acts of kindness are known to bring similar benefits. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation reports: "A number of scientific studies show that Acts of Kindness result in significant health benefits, both physical and mental, for those who perform them."
Among the benefits summarized at the Foundation web site, drawn from the research of Allan Luks and documented in his 1991 book, The Healing Power of Doing Good are:
- Helping others brings a rush of euphoria, followed by a longer period of calm.
- Kind acts reduce stress.
- Helping others can enhance joyfulness, emotional resilience, and vigor.
- Kind acts increase the sense of self worth, happiness, and optimism.
Aside from the moral virtue of doing kind acts, being kind is good for your health and happiness. The giver of kindness receives as much or more benefit than the recipient of a kindness act. In this case it truly is better to give than receive. Acts of kindness need not cost you a lot in terms of time or money; but you may find yourself giving up self-centered absorption.
An act of kindness can be as simple as a sincere smile and "good morning" to a co-worker or stranger you pass on the street. Try it, it costs nothing and you'll see that you feel a bit better afterwards.
Sincerely and deeply listening to someone is another easy and inexpensive way to be kind. We all want to feel important. When you truly listen, not occupied by what you want to say next, but occupied with what you are hearing and its implications, you signal that the person talking is important and valued.
Finding new ways to be kind can even be a creative and energizing new game. It can be lots of fun seeing the look of surprise, suspicion, and finally joy upon the face of the stranger in line ahead you at the checkout when you tell the cashier that you'll be paying for their purchase.
For a similar result at no cost, give up your position in a queue to the young mother struggling with a restless child and an armful of purchases behind you.
Have you ever passed an older person in the grocery aisle having a difficult time reaching an item on the top shelf or reading the small print on a label? Offer to help and watch the reaction.
If your personal development journey aims for greater health and happiness, make your first two stops along the way the daily practice of thoughts of gratitude and acts of kindness.
