WHAT IS THE POINT OF BEING ALIVE IF YOU DON'T AT LEAST TRY TO DO SOMETHING REMARKABLE?
The desire to change the world or make it into the history books might not tickle your fancy. Many people long to live a quiet and humble life, far from the spotlight or any form of unwanted attention. Whether you aspire to the former or the latter, we all have this in common: We wish to bring happiness to others.
The Collins Dictionary definition for “Remarkable” reads as follow: “Someone or something that is unusual or special in a way that makes people notice them and be surprised or impressed.”
Did you notice that the words “Larger than life”, “Enormous” or “Momentous” are not mentioned in the definition? Yet, the human mind naturally gravitates to the belief that only extraordinary acts “count” as truly being alive and living a life of impact.
Yet, the opposite is true! Let’s take a simple act of kindness for example. Helping someone in need might not seem like a big deal to you, but to the person on the receiving end it can have impact beyond your knowledge. What we don’t realize is that it goes so much deeper than just being able to give yourself a pat on the back for doing the “right thing”.
The warm feelings of triumph that you experience when you’ve done something good is not just a trained or taught emotion from your childhood. There is an actual science behind it!
Research has shown that any acts of kindness causes our bodies to release Oxytocin. Known as the “love hormone”, its release contributes to our overall mood and wellbeing, helps form social bonds and strengthen trust in others. It makes us friendlier, increases our generosity and even lowers our blood pressure. It has such a great effect that this practice has been incorporated into some forms of psychotherapy!
Studies have also found links between acts of kindness to releasing a chemical messenger in the brain called dopamine. This causes us to experience a feeling of euphoria, what psychologists refer to as “Helper’s high”.
In addition to boosting oxytocin and dopamine, being kind can also increase the neurotransmitter serotonin, which helps regulate your mood.
So how about including acts of kindness into your daily routine? Just like keeping a record of things you are grateful for, this too will improve your mental health and help you focus on these incredible tools that you possess!
Another way of increasing our compassion is through meditation. All forms of focused meditation has been associated with positive brain changes in the form of growth in the prefrontal cortex (this is the part of your brain that helps us with reasoning and making judgement calls). This subsequently increases our capacity for compassion, sympathy and empathy. Isn’t that simply incredible!
The benefits from being kind and compassionate holds advantage for both ourselves and those around us! Bringing happiness to others is truly something remarkable!
Are you ready to show some kindness today?