Be ready to make your day happier.
Nope, it is not what you may have in mind, and it is definitely surprising. Perhaps it is the reason why some people do it often, because they find happiness and fulfillment by such act.
A study reveals that those who do an act of kindness towards other people or to make the world a better place are generally happier than others. This is according to an article posted by Huffington Post.
From personal experience, lending a helping hand is indeed a mood booster. Whenever I extend an itty bitty help, whether to a relative or a stranger, my eyes would well up from joy. I am unsure if it is the same for everybody but the feeling is similar to fighting back tears, but you are secretly happy inside.
What is strange is that from the study, doing something for yourself and doing basically nothing out of the ordinary had the same results. There was no increased in positive emotions. Haven’t we thought self-gratification always comes first? Could it explain the reason why we often think of our family first? It does make sense doesn’t it? It is probably because we simply find ourselves happier that way.
It is indeed surprising to know that the happiness we are looking for can be found not by having more but giving more.
Read the below article for more details. Do you agree that an act of kindness make a person happier?
Psychologists Reveal One Of The Best Ways To Boost Your Mood
When we’re having a rough day, many of us tend to treat ourselves to some form of retail therapy, a favorite dessert or going out with friends in hopes of feeling better.
But a new study published in the journal Emotion last week suggests that treating ourselves is no more likely to boost our mood than doing nothing.
The study involved 473 volunteers who were separated into four groups. Each group had to complete different tasks over a six-week period.
One group was asked to complete acts of kindness to improve the world…The second group performed acts of kindness for other people…
The third group was instructed to perform acts of kindness for themselves… Finally, the fourth group was the control group that did nothing out of their ordinary activities.
The researchers found that participants who performed acts of kindness, whether those acts were for the world or specific people, were more likely to report feeling happy or experience an improvement in mood…
Previous studies have shown that acts of kindness may not only boost your mental health, but also your physical well-being.
–by Jacqueline Howard
To read the entire article, please go to Huffington Post.