Got Happiness?

Bringing light into someone’s day when they aren’t expecting it is a great way to brighten your own!

According to Dacher Keltner, director of the Berkeley Social Interaction Laboratory and author of “Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life,” kindness and compassion are hard-wired into our brains—to promote thriving, prosperous communities. As social creatures, we literally feed on positive interaction and connection. Keltner advocates a shift in paradigm: instead of competition for survival, how about collaboration for thrival? (*note: this author is aware that “thrival” is not techincally a word.)

Random Acts of Kindess are some of the simplest and most powerful tools in any pursuit of happiness.

Here are a few ideas to get you going:

-Leave flowers on somebody’s doorstep.
-Tape the exact change for a soda to a vending machine.
-Send a card to a friend, “just because.”
-When standing in a line, let the next person go ahead of you.
-Pay a sincere compliment to a total stranger.

Read more about Keltner’s approach to the good life at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=kindness-emotions-psychology

Enjoy more Random Kindess here: http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/