Over the past few months, the Live Well Learn Well Team have been exploring what contributes to a greater sense of wellbeing and overall happiness. We’ve been using the findings from the Little Book of Lykke, by Meik Wiking, as a framework to explore how we can create a life which is conducive to positive mental health and higher levels of satisfaction. So far, we have discussed the topics of health, money, togetherness and this month we’ll be exploring the role of kindness….
I will start this chapter on kindness with a Chinese proverb from the book:
If you want happiness for an hour – take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day – go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year – inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime – help someone else.
According to the World Happiness Report, a country cannot be happy unless amongst it’s population there is a high degree of concern for the welfare of others.
This made me think of the recent television program on BBC- Race across the World. The participants are challenged to journey from one point in the world to another, with no phone and a limited amount of cash. I found it to be an incredibly heart-warming show as often they are greeted with kindness and care from complete strangers.
I love to observe kindness in our society. Whether that’s someone picking up a cuddly toy a child has just dropped or allowing someone else to sit on the bus while they stand. I recently saw in London a stranger offering to buy a train ticket for a foreign visitor as they couldn’t understand how the underground ticket system worked. It makes me want to do more for others and it feels great when we are kind.
According to the Happiness Research Institute, people who volunteer are happier than those who don’t. They experience less depression and anxiety and enjoy a more meaningful life.
So how can we get more of this happiness into our lives? Here’s some suggestions…
- Give out smiles to strangers.
- Give a compliment to someone.
- Random acts of kindness – can you spot situations where you can help someone? Lend a book you have enjoyed, help a tourist find their way, tell someone who means a lot to you that they mean a lot to you and you appreciate them, do someone’s washing up, even though its not your turn.
- An easy way to help someone is to volunteer. This could be in many forms. It could be using the skills you already have – coaching sport at University or a local club, a driver for a charity, helping at the local Oxfam or charity shop. Setting up a new University club where you can share your skills – cooking, knitting, writing, environment care, chess whatever it might be! Check out the Student’s Union webpage for some inspiration.
So I challenge you to go out there and be kind to someone today, in any way that you can. The smallest acts can have the biggest impact, both for yourself and someone else.
Written by Hayley Blakely – Mental Health and Wellbeing Caseworker
references
Meik Wiking (2017). The little book of lykke : the Danish search for the world’s happiest people. London: Penguin Life.