Being kind is designed to make you feel better.

👉 Altruism feels good.  fMRI technology has shown that giving activates the same parts of the brain that are stimulated by food and sex.  Sooo… altruism is hardwired to feel pleasurable.

👉 Being nice combats anxiety. Researchers assigned people with high levels of anxiety to do kind acts for other people at least six times a week (for 4 weeks) — holding doors for others, doing chores for other people, donating to charity, buying a friend lunch, etc. Results showed significant mood boosts, increased relationship satisfaction and decreased social avoidance

👉 Kindness is purposefully contagious. The “warm and fuzzy” feeling we get when watching pure human goodness has a scientific name. It’s called moral elevation. And it’s nature’s way of constantly inspiring us to pay it forward.

👉 One example of kindness contagion spread to 167 people. Nine months ago, in a drive thru at McDonald’s, a stranger decided to pay for the meal of the car behind him. When the person rolled up and realized their meal had been paid for, they decided to do the same for the car behind them. This continued for another 167 cars. These chains have been known to get upwards of 300 or 400 people paying it forward to someone else.

👉It not only makes you feel better, but it makes you do better. “When you feel this sense of moral ‘elevation’ not only do you say you want to be a better person and help others,” said Simone Schnall, of Cambridge. “But you actually do when the opportunity presents itself.”

Do good. Feel good. Do good. Repeat.

It’s like a circle of kindness. Try incorporating 6 kinds acts into your week, and watch what happens. ☀️

#morningmischief

Photo by Andrew Rauner