Positive Psychology and Kindness

Happy people become happier through kindness intervention. The relationship between the character strength of kindness and subjective happiness, and the effects of a counting kindnesses intervention on subjective happiness Happy people to perform on their motivation, recognition and enactment of kind behaviors. They have more happy memories in daily life in terms of both quantity and quality. Subjective happiness was increased simply by counting one’s own acts of kindness for one week.

Happy people became more kind and grateful through the counting kindnesses intervention. Compared with less happy people, happy people have better social relationships and more pleasant everyday lives. For example, very happy people have highly satisfying relationships with friends, romantic partners, and family members and that, compared to their less happy peers, they report more positive events and emotions in their daily lives relative to negative ones. Happy people are more extraverted, more agreeable, and less neurotic.

Some studies have shown that subjective happiness is one of the key factors in subjective well-being and overall satisfaction with life. Therefore I expected that in addition to the strength of gratitude, the strength of kindness would also play an important role in increasing subjective happiness. Gratitude is an important human strengths that contributes to subjective happiness, especially appreciative of the contribution of others to their happiness. I suggest that grateful persons would further be characterized by the appreciation of life’s simple pleasures.

These imply reciprocal relationships among gratitude, subjective happiness, and good social relationships. Consequently, compared with unhappy people, happy people report close and satisfying relationships and feel more gratitude in their lives. Gratitude when people receive kindness form other people, kindness entails enacting kind behavior toward other people. In personal mindset, how to act of kindness can be expressed in countless ways? A warm hello said to a stranger, giving money to those in need, allowing cars to merge into traffic… all of these are acts of kindness.

Kindness may be best expressed as a state of mind. With the holiday season over, and many of us feeling the effects of a far-reaching world disaster, understanding how kindness can help is very important. People you help can see the direct result of your actions, and people who witness your gestures can be touched by what you do. From giving money and time, to the way in which you communicate with friends, family, and co-workers, the ripple effect of kindness is far-reaching.

It is easy to think that kindness is only a “one-way street”, but kindness can go both ways. Giving, in and of itself, can be a great reward, but how is the giver affected? The giver can be rewarded in many areas, both psychologically and physically. It would be impossible to list every way that kindness can be shown or given. Being attuned to situations where you can help almost becomes a “state of mind” or “attitude” that you can live by. Start by making a list of areas where you can help.

This may include giving to a helping organization, such as a local homeless shelter, food-bank, or a national/ international organization. With the natural disaster in the Far East dominating what we see on the evening news, perhaps you could start by identifying national or international organizations that could use your financial donations. You can even look to your community for places that could use your donations or volunteer time, such as visiting patients in a nursing home or hospital ward.

And the world is a better place through your kindness. Never underestimate the impact of a single act of kindness. I still remember, after many years, the time someone stopped and helped me after my car had broken down in high-speed road. Since then, I have stopped on the road myself and helped stranded motorists a number of times. All because of that single act of kindness by a stranger. The implications of kindness are far reaching. Showing kindness even on a small level is a great start. Also, it is important to carry out your acts of kindness without expecting anything in return has its own rewards. 1013 words