You may have heard the expression “kindness begets kindness” and you know that it has a deep meaning, because it involves the continuity of an act of love and solidarity with others.
Kindness generates benefits both for those who receive it and for those who offer it, because it awakens and renews feelings, being able to create a current of goodness and well-being and, consequently, a better world.
When we think of acts of kindness, everyday gestures, words and expressions such as “good morning”, “please”, “thank you” and of delicacy and respect always come to mind. However, kindness is much more! It involves focusing on what the other needs. It means having a different look at one's own possibilities and at the individual contributions that can be made to improve everyone's quality of life.
Know now what are the 10 reasons for you to act with kindness and convince yourself that you are facing something transformative!
Acting kindly makes us happier
When we act with kindness, however small the gesture, we feel good. Action and results touch us deeply on a spiritual level, and we realize that by doing so, we become better, closer to our essence.
As for biochemical processes, the feeling of well-being occurs due to the high levels of the natural versions of morphine and heroin that the brain produces, known as endogenous opioids, and which increase the levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in the control of movements, learning , mood, emotions, cognition and memory.
Acting with kindness improves interpersonal relationships
One of the results generated by acts of kindness is the possibility of improving interpersonal relationships, because when we are kind, we show others that they are important to us, they do not go unnoticed. This attitude generates positive actions in the other, starting with gratitude, and makes the atmosphere between people more pleasant and the environment more harmonious.
Acting with kindness encourages empathy
The most effective acts of kindness are those that meet the needs of another. Therefore, it is necessary to “position yourself in his situation” to understand how it is possible to contribute. This behavior is, in itself, altruistic and includes social integration, a greater perception of the other and of oneself (one's own abilities), attentive listening, directed attention. It improves mood, generates connections, awakens affection and brings many other benefits.
Acting with kindness raises self-esteem
A study was published in 2010 in the Journal of the American Academy of Gerontology by sociologist Patricia Thomas, a professor at Purdue University (USA), bringing evidence of the benefits of kindness to the mind. In it, the sociologist states that when we give ourselves to others, we increase our sense of independence and self-esteem, because we feel useful, we generate well-being and happiness.
Acting with kindness contributes to the preservation of mental health
Being kind contributes to preserving mental health, because, by engaging in acts of kindness in the daily routine, the person is able to mobilize the best feelings of themselves, dedicate them to the other and obtain immediate and visible results from them. It is empowering and reduces symptoms of anxiety, loneliness, indifference, depression, isolation and others.
Acting Kindly Relieves Anxiety
The 2015 study “Kindness reduces avoidance goals in socially anxious individuals” from the University of British Columbia (Canada) showed that patients undergoing treatment for anxiety who practiced an act of kindness per day were more relaxed and more integrated after four weeks and with higher levels of dopamine and serotonin (happiness hormones). Therefore, acting with kindness alleviates the effects of social phobia, a reflex of anxiety.
Acting with kindness contributes to the preservation of physical health
Altruism, present in acts of kindness, makes the heart produce oxytocin and nitric oxide, both of which are related to the fight against high blood pressure. There is also evidence that they improve the immune system and help people live longer, according to David R. Hamilton, a PhD in Chemistry and author of eight bestselling books on the relationship between mind and body, three on the effects of kindness on the body.
Kindness is good for the heart, as it stimulates the production of substances opposite to cortisol and adrenaline, linked to stress.
Acting with kindness also causes the production of endorphins, a substance considered to be our natural “painkiller”, which balances the rhythm of breathing and blocks pain, as observed in the clinical study carried out by Nigel Mathers, at the University Hospital of Sheffield (UK).
Acting kindly increases longevity
Oxytocin, produced in acts of kindness, reduces the levels of free radicals and inflammation in the cardiovascular system, delaying aging.
There are assumptions that compassion, the content of acts of kindness, has an important link with the vagus nerve, which regulates the heart rate and controls the levels of inflammation in the body.
The Tibetan Buddhists' Loving Kindness Compassion meditation was used in a study to identify the action of kindness and compassion on the organism. Both were found to, in fact, reduce inflammation in the body, likely due to their effects on the vagus nerve.
Acting kindly gives you more energy
Being kind generates positivity and enthusiasm and, being constant, promotes a better quality of life. The study “Altruism, happiness, and health: it's good to be good”, published by the “International Journal of Behavioral Medicine”, in 2005, showed that, after performing acts of kindness , a person tends to be stronger and have more energy.
Acting with kindness produces a “current of good”
The 2010 study “Acts of kindness spread surprisingly easily: just a few people can make a difference” from the University of California (USA) found that kindness and cooperation are contagious and multiply among people. One who benefits from kindness tends to be kind to another person, thus creating a current of kindness. "Kindness generates kindness".
We human beings are gregarious, we need each other to live and we have basic needs common to all and more specific ones. Satisfying these needs is the challenge of societies for the preservation of life and for evolution, and therefore, each one contributes in their own way, with their knowledge, skills and feelings to support the achievement of this great objective. When we act with kindness, achieving this goal becomes more pleasurable.
To act kindly, you need to connect. Understand everything and everyone around us. Understand the interdependence of life. Understand the unity of existence. Loving yourself, each other, nature and caring for each part with kindness.
You may also like
- Understand the breadth of the expression “kindness begets kindness”
- Understand the importance of kindness in everyday life
- Discover the loving reality of a gentle life
Being kind is an act of love, of “surrender” and of discovering possibilities. You can only win! So live this experience and be a link in the chain of kindness, remembering that kindness begets kindness.
