Kindness is Healthy

It is now scientifically proven that kindness pays off when it comes to your health.  Furthermore, it is not just a good thing for the receiver of the kindness.  Au contraire, it is even more of a boost for the giver.  No wonder Oprah liked to give away cars.  When we give a compliment, open a door, let a fellow driver into the roadway, we extend a good part of ourselves that creates the potential for even more acts of kindness.  Even though you may never know how someone chose to "pay it forward" it still matters.

This is the basic "stuff" that makes us feel happier.  Happier people are funner to be around.  Happier people take life's bumps and bruises in stride and don't allow stress to take over.  Happier people want more good things for themselves, so they keep working on themselves.  Therefore, it pays to train the brain to keep looking for good things, good news, opportunities for being kind.  This doesn't mean awful things don't happen.  This is not pretending that "life is good" even if you are in crisis.  No, this is the growth mindset that we can cultivate, exercise and grow so that our outlook is more often positive than negative. 

As I write this blog, my 17 year old daughter has been home sick from school all week with a perforated ear drum.  She went back to school today only to be sent home because she now has pink eye in both eyes.  Back to the pediatrician.  I am on my way out of town for the WW cruise tomorrow morning, and this development added a wrinkle to the day.  But, I am not focusing on this.  I am not getting pink eye.  I am leaving Natalie in my mother's capable hands and hoping and praying for the best.  It's all I can do. 

Look for ways to be kind to other people--your family, your neighbors, your coworkers and strangers.  A smile, a nice word, a gesture that takes but a few seconds is all it takes to make your day and theirs.  That is the good energy you can control.  And if nothing else, it is good for your health and happiness.