Today there is a lot of hate in the world. It is nearly impossible to keep up with current events or even scroll through your morning Twitter feed without being bombarded with negativity. You may not know this, but by only reading about somber news stories, you are neglecting yourself from elevation and therefore more likely to have a poor mood for the remainder of the day. Studies have shown that kindness is contagious. When receiving or witnessing an act of kindness, an individual experiences elevation. Elevation describes the physical and psychological response your body has to witnessing an act of kindness, whether you are involved or not. During elevation, an individual's heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia will increase. This stimulation is what causes the warm and fuzzy feeling inside of you.
Unfortunately, it is rare to receive a random act of kindness in your everyday life. In addition to this, news sources tend to report on stories with a somber topic because it is more interesting and engages a wider audience. To counteract this negativity cycle, I challenge you to actively seek out positive news stories each morning to start your day off on a happy note. With hope, this will inspire you to radiate more positivity throughout your day and then, in turn, lead others to be more kind as well.
If this has not convinced you that being kind is cool yet, there are other proven beneficial effects of kindness on individuals. Studies have shown that performing acts of kindness has many selfish benefits. These include: increasing an individual's energy and confidence levels, boosting your immune system, reducing the effects of stress on the body, and reducing social anxiety. This being said, if you don't see the point in being kind to benefit others, there are still many selfish reasons to be kind to others, and no one will know your true motives.
In the midst of all of the hate and horrible stories that flood your timeline, there needs to be some source of positivity in all of our lives. The bad news is these happy stories and events are not going to fall into our laps and encourage us to be kind to others. The good news is there are good people out there. I am convinced the majority of the world's population consists of good people who strive to make others happy. If we all try to make an effort every day and to spread a little kindness, a ripple effect will occur and hopefully, there will be more love in the world.
