The Quiet Power of Kindness

For some, happiness is a word that conjures up visions of selfish people concerned only with their own pleasure; but this sort of hedonistic approach to happiness is a recipe for serial bursts of pleasure at the expense of long-term happiness. When I speak of happiness, I am describing a much richer concept; more akin to what the ancient Greeks called eudaimonia or “success at being human.” One of the central elements for living well is how we relate to other people. In this regard, happiness is literally the opposite of self-centeredness or self-absorption. In fact, contrary to many Las Vegas advertisements or Hollywood-lifestyle fantasies, self-absorption is a key ingredient for depression, and single-minded focus on personal pleasure is a recipe for long-term misery. So here’s the single most effective thing we can do to get an immediate and significant boost to our genuine happiness—and to set the stage for a deeper, long-term happiness as well. It’s simple. It’s not mysterious. But it is substantial: Do something kind for another person.

It’s wonderful to be on the receiving end of kindness, and kind acts build trust and create a wonderful atmosphere in which to live, work, and flourish. But as much good as kindness does for others, it also does wonders for us on the giving end. In fact, kindness and happiness go together like Astaire and Rogers; Lennon and McCartney, Peanut Butter and Jam… You get the idea. Kindness and happiness build on each other and reinforce each other. We know this from experience; but it’s nice to also have some research to back it up: In a study by Otake, Shimai, Tanaka-Matsumi, Otsui, and Fredrickson, “Happy People Become Happier Through Kindness,” the authors found some important results:

(1) Happy people have more positive memories, and more motivation to recognize and perform kind behaviors

(2) People become happier, kinder, and more grateful when they simply count their own acts of kindness for one week

Happiness and kindness reinforce one another. Not only do happy people pay attention to and perform more kind acts, but by simply counting our own acts of kindness over the course of a week, our happiness increases, and we become kinder and more grateful as well. Counting our acts of kindness is a specific, tangible exercise that we can practice. I am not advocating counting and hoarding and bragging about our kind acts or keeping a ledger to show others what a wonderful, kind person we are. This is an exercise that focuses our awareness on our own kind behavior. Since we get good at what we practice—for good or ill— by paying attention to our kind acts, we get better at thinking about and noticing kind acts. We thereby build awareness of the intrinsic feelings of joy and increased happiness that comes from doing kind things. One of my favorite writers, philosopher Eric Hoffer, said it well: “Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.” This is the creation of a benevolent cycle. We do a kind act, feel the joy of it, notice the joy we bring through the doing, and it becomes more attractive for ourselves and for the recipient of our kindness to do more kind acts, feel the joy of it… And the benevolence builds. There is one important caveat to this, however. There is a fundamental difference between doing kind acts because we want to, and doing kind acts because we are told to. Research from Weinstein and Ryan shows how very important it is for the motivation for kind acts to come from one’s own volition:

So kindness is not something that can be forced from us, like toothpaste from a tube. Kindness is generative; it arises from the better side of our human nature, like love and joy. It is created with voluntary intention, grows with action, and flows from a heart that has chosen to be open. Of course, sometimes giving or receiving kindness can be easier said than done. Earlier in my career, I worked quite a lot with clients who had endured severe trauma. When we’ve been so severely betrayed by people who should have loved us, sometimes trusting enough to accept the kindness of another person can be a heroic act—a leap of faith, really. Expressing kindness can just as easily feel like a dangerously vulnerable undertaking. Yet for some of my clients, finding the courage to give and receive kindness—and to have more kindness towards themselves as well—was exactly what they needed most to heal the old wounds, and to escape the gravitational pull of their past suffering. The key is to find it in our own heart to want to express kindness toward others, to challenge ourselves to practice more kindness, so that kindness becomes a natural way of being in the world—not for show, and not because it is demanded of us, but as a way of authentically, deliberately engaging the better angels of our nature. Doing so holds more promise for genuine happiness and joy than most of us realize.

Try paying attention this week to the kind acts that you do, and notice how you feel when you do them. You may experience what Samuel Johnson described: We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindness there is at last one which makes the heart run over.

Expressing kindness is a quiet yet powerful act. It expresses warmth and love and caring for people. It helps to grow and spread that spirit, inspiring others to do the same. It reminds us of our own love and caring. It helps people that could use some help. And it makes us personally happier in the process, generating those initial currents that can swirl into a profoundly benevolent cycle.

Start where it’s easy for you. Just bring a little more kindness to those you love, a little more appreciation for those who you feel appreciation for. Notice how you feel when you do this, and you may find more kindness flowing naturally from you over time.

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About the Author: Joel Wade

Joel F. Wade, Ph.D. is the author of Mastering Happiness and The Virtue of Happiness. He is a marriage and family therapist and life coach who works with people around the world via phone and Skype. He is a speaker and workshop leader, teaching clear, practical skills and ideas that can be used immediately, and inspiring his listeners to take effective steps toward a more rewarding, joyful, and resilient life. You can get a FREE Learning Optimism E-Course if you sign up at his website, www.drjoelwade.com, and his new Masters Course in Happiness is now available online.