Be kind by helping others is not only good for ourselves and a good thing to do, it also makes us happier and healthier too. Giving connects us to others, creating stronger communities and helping to build a happier society for everyone. But it is not all about money, we can give our time, ideas, energy, thought, attention, a simple smile, a kind word and a thoughtful gesture. It can be done anywhere, at school, at home or in the community. Scientific studies show that helping others increases happiness as it enhances the sense of life satisfaction, the feeling of competence, improves our mood and reduces stress. Giving to others help us connect with people and meets our needs to relate to others. Kindness can be contagious. When we see someone …show more content…
Hence, we are often not aware of what is going on around us here and now. It will be natural that we will miss most of the experiences in our lives as we do things out of unconscious habit rather than conscious choice. Being mindful means we become fully aware of what is around us, what we can see, hear, touch and taste. Also we are aware of our thoughts and feelings. We can practice mindfulness while walking, eating or interacting with others. It does not require one to sit in special position or doing any stance. It requires him to take a break from all thoughts, observe his surroundings without any judgment/comments. For example, while you are cooking a meal, you will focus on the present, and quiet that voice inside your head – the one that constantly making remarks on what you are doing, what you have done and what you will be doing. The first time that I tried to be mindful, I had to hold my breath when I tried to stop the thinking, but soon I realized that it was possible to stop thinking! This is also a way to prevent the burn-out feeling of the mind from its running constantly. It helps us to stay in tune with our feelings and stops us from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, in order to get more out of the day-to-day. Mindfulness helps to improve the ability to concentrate since it calls for a …show more content…
Studies show that people who practice mindfulness—the moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and external circumstances—not only have stronger immune systems but are more likely to be happy and enjoy greater life satisfaction, and they are less likely to be hostile or anxious. Pioneering research by Richard Davidson, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and others has found that a basic eight-week mindfulness training program can significantly improve our physical and psychological
According to the article, Altruism and helping behavior, it is common for people to help others. Altruism is defined as “the desire to help another person even if it doesn’t benefit the helper” (Altruism and Helping Behavior. Print.). Helping behavior is “any act that is intended to benefit another person”
First off I’ll start off by talking about the bystander effect and how it could influence people’s altruistic behavior. Bystander effect is the phenomenon that when someone is in the need of help from anyone around, people who are around that person will only watch due to a few reasons like diffusion of responsibility and symbolic interactionism.
However, putting that aside, there is a burning question that many people want to know about this broad characteristic: “What makes us want to give, and what is so good about giving?” Well, that’s two questions, but those two questions are very similar and so must both be assessed to thoroughly give an answer. Yes, everyone must be thinking, if someone gives something of his, doesn’t it just take away something from him, doing nothing but harming him? Well, believe it or not, there is a tremendous amount of equally tremendous benefits that come from being generous to all people alike. And when these benefits are presented, the first part of the question will be already, for the most part, answered.
Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner provides incredibly valuable insight into the intertwining concepts of identity and personal happiness, as does A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. Undeniably, a healthy cognisance of personal identity is crucial to mental tranquility and happiness. Insecurity, for example is unilaterally viewed as an unsettling character flaw precisely because of the inherent implication of untrue personal identity. Accurately understanding one’s true personal identity is the backbone of happiness, as seen in The Kite Runner and A Complicated Kindness. Furthermore, it can be said that personal flaws, strengths and collectivist mentalities surrounding both Amir and Nomi’s characters ultimately contribute to their respective happiness or lack thereof, at the end of both stories.
Psychology’s history is a relatively rough one and has only recently been considered a science. According to Martin Seligman (2000), negative psychology is psychology that deals with recovery and healing, using the disease model. This type of psychology has been popular in America since the end of World War II because of grants given to the industry during that time (Seligman, 2000). That time period left positive psychology, the psychology of developing ones skill and wellbeing and perfecting what is already there, overlooked and forgotten. But what psychologist have recently recognized is that positive psychology can be just as useful as negative psychology but it is a vastly under developed area. Thus many scientists have embraced the new frontier of positive psychology. I did a study on the subject of positive psychology. I took two life experiences, one that I found personal pleasure in, and another that wasn’t as fun at the time but benefited others and compared and contrasted the resulting feelings of happiness.
As shenahaiti.org The Power of Giving said, “All our lives, we’ve heard about the importance of others: “No man is an island.” Man does not live by bread alone.” The complexity of our society—from today’s difficult economic times, to our immense cultural diversity, to high-tech interconnectedness—makes these proverbs just as, if not more, pertinent than ever. Supporting one another—truly giving of ourselves and our humanity to others—is vital for our global well-being.” This assertion magnifies the fact that charitable donations have indirect benefits because when people help one another with things such as; running errands, help with cleaning, giving money, or even just talking to one another, makes people look up and think, “man he must be a good person.” So the people helping those desperately in need of money are thought upon being a good person, even though that was not their intended purpose. A lot say, “So people who do not donate to charity are not good and thoughtful people?” Absolutely not, plenty of people don’t donate to charity, that does not make them un-thoughtful, or bad, but people who do donate seem to get more praise and
Helping is the most powerful way that one can show love and affection for others. Being there for someone who is going through a hard time in his/her life means more than anything for that person. I believe what kept the world still alive is helping one another. For example during the world war I, when European powerful nations are fighting for no reason killing the people who could be their brothers if they weren’t wearing that uniform and holding that gun. When germany was thinking they won the war already, but when the United States join the Allies, everything comes into peace. Woodrow wilson’s plan for peace was achieved by helping the the Allies fight the central powers who influenced the Nation by power, military and economy had to give up their position.
How do humans actually behave when faced with the decision to help others? The innate desire that compels humans to help is called altruism by psychologists. Through this feeling, humans transform from a selfish jerk to a more compassionate and caring person. Some psychologists believe that this feeling stems from nature itself. Despite the fact that some altruistic acts originate from the pressures of society, altruism predominantly comes from the survival of the fittest, the feeling of empathy, and the selfish desire to benefit your own kin.
There are many definitions for the term altruism, and each definition describes different ways individuals think about the relevance of one’s behavior. Some individuals have argued that altruism has nothing to do with an individual performing an act of kindness or good will toward others. In fact, there are many who argue that it is impossible for altruism to exist. The reason is because; they believe that when people perform an act of kindness they also have an alternative motive, whether it is to feel good about themselves, to receive something in return or ...
...esult, the more directly one sees their personal efforts impact someone else, the more happiness one can gain from the experience of giving. Sometimes generosity requires pushing past a feeling of reluctance because people all instinctively want to keep good things for themselves, but once one is over this feeling, they will feel satisfaction in knowing that they have made a difference in someone else’s life. However, if one lives without generosity but is not selfish, they can still have pleasure from other virtues.
To get an understanding of what altruism is and why it is used we must go back. In the year 1853 Auguste Comte a French philosopher took French word Altrui which means “of or to others” and alruisme which means “selflessness, opposed of egoism" and came out Altruism. Altruism is a sympathetic and generous action done towards others. Although there is no proof of altruism being genetic or if it’s gained though social encounters we do know that it is possessed by most, those who have experienced empathy have a general understanding of altruism.
If we open our lives and give service to those less fortunate than ourselves, we allow our hearts to receive immeasurable happiness. When we sacrifice our time to help someone in need, whether it is a great or small need, we become a part of their life and can help alleviate heavy burdens. Making time to help people in need creates opportunities for us to develop new and lasting relationships. Serving our fellowmen allows the best in each of us to shine through and we can become examples to our children.
The first area that acts of kindness influence involves psychological aspects. One result when performing this task is it allows one to become happier. When focusing on another person, it reduces feelings of loneliness or isolation and can also help to cope with depression. While in the service of others, endorphins are released which are associated with happiness. The discharge of these endorphins provides a longer feeling of calmness and a higher sense of well-being (The Health Benefits of Kindness). In other words, small acts of kindness have a great effect on moods. In return, your mood determines what the rest of the day will be like. Service involves one person focusing on the needs of another. This provides a period of time in which...
Kindness is the key to most everything. Being kind means taking the high road, even when someone has wronged you. It means serving other people, even under inconvenient circumstances.It involves looking for the good in others, and even helping them to see the good in themselves. Kindness is spreading happiness to make other’s day better and by making them smile. Kindness is defending those who are picked on by others, sitting by those who are lonely, and saying hi to someone in the hall. Kindness is being someone who wants to build up those around them.
As a bonus, when you make someone else happy, you boost your own happiness. Research has consistently shown that doing good things for other people, as opposed to doing things for yourself or doing nothing at all, increases your life satisfaction. [Source: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224540903365554] And when you are a happier person, you are a kinder person, so the benefits just keep coming.