One simple little text emoji—the smiley face with rosy cheeks—expresses the emotion perfectly: that warm, fuzzy feeling you get after connecting with another person. Some might label it true happiness. Others might throw in a touch of humble gratitude and affection. Whatever it is, the true joy of giving has the power to transform us right down to the cellular level.
What’s really profound is that tapping that wellspring of emotion doesn’t have to be hard. It can be triggered by something as simple as a small act of kindness that we do for someone else. It’s as easy as a thank you and is a shareable gift in that by giving to others, we find our own personal happiness. In short, we can improve our own quality of life in any number of ways simply by being kind and giving to others.
Kindness Chemistry: The Healthy Benefits of Being Nice
Simply witnessing an act of kindness initiates a physiological response in our body with the release of a number of beneficial chemicals. Oxytocin is often called the “love hormone” because its release is associated with romantic feelings and mother-infant bonding, but its influence extends to more platonic dimensions like social relationships, generosity to others and the ability to trust. The release of oxytocin can even lower our blood pressure and reduce inflammation.
Dopamine is a chemical that is both a neurotransmitter and a hormone. It’s closely associated with our brain’s pleasure and reward centers. Its release is responsible for the euphoric feeling of “the helper’s high.” Even simple anticipation of something pleasurable can release dopamine.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that also acts as a hormone. It can make us feel calmer, more focused, happier even. It also makes us sleep better and aids healing.
Endorphins are natural pain killers that the body can release when stimulated. They not only relieve aches and pains so that we feel stronger, but they also make us more optimistic, improve our self-image, reduce anxiety and even help us lose weight.
If we’re the person performing a kindness for someone else, the positive response can be even more intense. Whether we simply witness them or actually perform them, acts of kindness are beneficial to our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
Kindness Improves Workplace Quality of Life and Success
When you consider that we spend about one-third of our lives working, our work environment has a direct impact on our quality of life. Researchers have found that the prevalence of five organizational behaviors—altruism, courtesy, sportsmanship, conscientiousness and civic virtue—matters to the success of both individuals and the companies where they work.
In fact, the levels of these behaviors are predictive of everything from how managers evaluate employees and whether employees want to stay to a company’s productivity, cost efficiency, employee turnover rate and customer retention. When you consider that social behavior tends to encourage more of the same behavior in tight-knit groups, a little bit of kindness goes a long way toward making the workplace — and the world — a better place for all of us.
Unlocking the Benefits of Kindness
Kindness comes in many forms, and honestly, it really comes down to you. Here are a few simple ways to show kindness and give appreciation that cost little to nothing — while making you feel happier and more fulfilled in your everyday life.
1. Send Handwritten Thank You Cards
A kindness as simple as writing a thank you—just a small handwritten note—can make us incredibly happy. A study at the University of Pennsylvania of 411 participants used various writing assignments as “positive psychology interventions.” The task, however, that elicited a “huge increase in happiness scores” was one in which participants had to write and personally deliver a thank you to someone they’d previously failed to recognize for their kindness. Writing those sincere notes of gratitude was a potent exercise. Not only did participants feel happier at the time of the activity, but also the positive effects lasted for a month.
2. Give Verbal Appreciation First
Saying thank you in advance has punch. To prove it, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania looked at the effect of expressing gratitude versus not expressing gratitude to workers tasked with calling potential donors for a university fund-raising event. When managers made a point of recognizing their workers’ efforts and thanking them in advance, those workers made 50 percent more fund-raising calls than the teams who received no thanks in advance. Something as simple as a front-loaded thank you can inspire people around you to offer their very best — and everyone benefits.
3. Give Genuine Compliments
Compliments actually hold greater benefits for the giver of the compliment than the receiver. Saying something positive to or about someone requires that we think about them in a positive light—a process that can make us feel closer to them. The really interesting twist that researchers discovered was why so many of us hesitate to give compliments: social anxiety. Since a study on that very topic leads us to the conclusion that kind acts relieve social anxiety, looking for the good in others and complimenting them on what we find is a sound way to build our own sense of social connection and security.
4. Spend More on Others than on Yourself
Study after study demonstrates that giving to others makes us happier than keeping things for ourselves. The classic study from 2008 looked at how people spend their money, finding that “spending more of one’s income on others predicted greater happiness.” Even when the study gave study participants money and directed some to spend it on themselves and others to spend it on someone else, members of the second group reported greater levels of happiness than those who’d been told to spend it on themselves.
Another study directed individuals to recall previous purchases—either for themselves or for someone else. Those who focused on purchases made for someone else reported greater levels of happiness. In fact, the happier those individuals felt, the more likely they were to spend an additional monetary windfall on someone else.
So, an additional benefit is that the joy of giving can be recalled repeatedly over time to encourage more giving and add to our reservoir of happiness.
Make Kindness Your Calling Card
If you’re feeling the urge to spread a little kindness this season, Cane River Pecan Company’s collection of gourmet pecan gifts and Southern specialties is a perfect place to start. Explore our collection, or reach out to our corporate gifting specialists. Go ahead and delight the special people in your life—and reap the benefits of a gift well given.