I have written a lot about side effects of kindness, that when you give you also receive. Sometimes receiving can be in the form of acts of kindness done for you, or of seemingly random blessings showing up in your life, but they also come in the form of physiological effects. I had an experience […]
happiness
Do what’s in your heart
Do what’s in your heart. Be yourself. We often doubt ourselves and imagine that we have to change so that the world accepts us. We imagine we need to compromise on our dreams, on doing what makes our hearts sing, in order to succeed. But instead of you bending to meet the world, be yourself, […]
Kindness is more than the things that we do
I was asked what kindness is during an interview a few weeks ago. It’s something I’m rarely asked as most of us assume we know what kindness is. So I’ve turned it around and since asked a few groups what they think kindness is. The answer I receive the most is about doing helpful things […]
Emotions are currency, the exchange rate is empathy
We live in a world where statistics tell us how things are and the chances of something happening. Many of us take statistics we hear as facts, assuming that they apply to each of us individually. While statistics are immensely useful and they can give us startling insights and make astonishing predictions, we all know […]
The right thing to do
I was in Chicago for a couple of days recently. Among many things, one thing that stood out for me was the number of homeless people who were not asking for money. One was just a young girl, who couldn’t have been more than 18. Some of their cardboard signs said things like, “Please. I’m not looking for […]
The opposite of stress
Everybody knows what stress feels like. We also know what it feels like when we’re kind, when someone is kind to us, or even when we witness kindness. The feelings are opposite. Most of the effects inside the body are the opposite too. Feelings of stress generate ‘stress hormones’ in the brain and body, like […]
Born to be kind
“My religion is Kindness” HH The Dalai Lama You’ve probably heard of ‘The Selfish Gene’. Many have mistakenly taken this to mean than humans are naturally selfish. That’s not what the term ‘selfish gene’ refers to. Selfish gene really refers to the process of evolution where genes are copied and passed onto the next generation. […]
How to deflect negative emotion
Have you ever felt totally drained after spending time with certain people, whether at work or even in your personal life? I think we’ve all had those times… when we feel we’re literally soaking up the negative emotions of certain people around us. It’s called Emotional Contagion. Just as you can catch a cold by […]
The power of a hug
A hug is wonderful when you feel sad, stressed, tired and even when you feel good. I love what the Free Hugs people do when they stand in a city centre holding a ‘Free Hugs’ sign. Their hugs produce human connection, vulnerability, smiles, laughter, positive emotion, and even sometimes tears, especially if it’s the first […]
A matter of perspective
I’ve always thought of myself as having a positive attitude. Not all the time, of course. I think we all have our good and bad days, the latter making positive thinking quite a bit harder, those days when if someone says ‘Think positive’, well, I’ll leave it to your imagination. But in many instances, whether […]