essay on kindness is contagious

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✍️Essay on Kindness: Samples in 100, 150 and 200 Words

• Updated on  
• Nov 2, 2023

Research says that being kind to someone or vice versa can positively rewire your brain. Kindness is when one is generous to another person. Well, in today’s world, it is very difficult. We can hardly find anyone. Do you wish to bring a change in your lifestyle ? Well, you have come to the right place. Today, we will be talking about kindness in depth. Here, in this article, we have compiled several sample essays on kindness which describe this topic in depth. 

This Blog Includes:

Importance of kindness, essay on kindness in 100 words, essay on kindness in 150 words, essay on kindness in 200 words.

Kindness is an effortless yet powerful gesture which put a very positive impact on someone’s life. In the academic community, this gesture is seen as an attitude that can create a huge impact on one’s achievement. 

Speaking in a bit of a medical language, being kind to someone boosts serotonin and dopamine. These brain chemicals, known as neurotransmitters, are what light up your reward and pleasure centres and give you a sense of fulfilment.

This doesn’t end here. Kindness has been shown to have cardioprotective effects. It can lower blood pressure and the stress hormone cortisol, which in turn affects stress levels. 

Speaking of which, here, we have compiled an essay on kindness which will provide you with more information on this topic. Let’s dive in. 

Also Read: Essay on the Importance of the English Language for Students

Being kind is a basic virtue which is very important for humankind to create a world that is more peaceful and compassionate. It is one of the most straightforward acts which can be shown by anyone to others without expecting anything in return. When it comes to showing kindness, there are many ways by which one can show it. These include opening doors for others giving your time to support a good cause or simply being with them during their hard times. 

Always remember that even showing a tiny act of kindness can create a huge impact in someone’s life or simply make their day better. 

Also Read: Essay on Save Environment: Samples in 100, 200, 300 Words

Kindness is a feeling of being generous, friendly and considerate. In a world full of hatred and cruelty, kindness is what one can spread. You never know whom you might someone from a having bad day. One can simply start spreading kindness in the community they are living in. 

One of the best examples to describe the word kindness would be Mother Teresa . She devoted her entire life to caring for the destitute and dying in the slums of Calcutta (Kolkata). She is considered to be one of the greatest humanitarians the world has ever produced.

Speaking of kindness, doing little things such as opening a door for someone. Helping an elderly person cross the street, or holding things of someone are some basic things which can be done.

To conclude, kindness is contagious. It can spread like wildfire. Therefore, in a world where there is so much hatred, and cruelty, where people are fighting. One can be kind which will provoke others to do the same. 

Also Read: Essay on Unity in Diversity in 100 to 200 Words

Kindness is one of the most important qualities which people should have. This is very important to create a more compassionate and harmonious world. The simple act of being considerate towards others and not expecting anything in return is kindness. The word ‘kindness’ can be expressed in many different ways. From helping someone during tough times to helping an old lady cross the street is what best describes this word. 

Other than this, kindness is also beneficial for our well-being. Studies show that people who are kind to people around them tend to be more happy than others. This is because of the endorphins which are released. They contribute towards mood-boosting and pain-relieving effects. Not only this, kindness has also proved to have reduced stress levels and improved cardiovascular health.

To conclude, I would like to leave you all with a thought. In today’s times, we hardly come across kind people. Consider ourselves, we may feel for others around us going through the bad phase but how often do we reach out and assist them? It is our responsibility to nurture kindness in ourselves before we can ask others to do the same for us.

Related Articles 

We hope after reading some of these essays on kindness, your perspective on kindness would have changed. Always remember, everyone is fighting their own battles, so the best you can do is be a little kind and bring a smile to their face. Signing off!

There are certain advantages to our happiness and general well-being for those of us who are kind and caring. Perhaps we will live longer. Additionally, kindness lowers stress and enhances mental health.

These expressions describe persons who are kind, considerate, and considerate of others’ feelings.

Kindness belongs to the human virtue category and is one of the 24 universal character strengths.

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay-writing page and follow Leverage Edu ! 

Malvika Chawla

Malvika is a content writer cum news freak who comes with a strong background in Journalism and has worked with renowned news websites such as News 9 and The Financial Express to name a few. When not writing, she can be found bringing life to the canvasses by painting on them.

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The Kindness Is Contagious

It started on a day just like any other. My uncle took me to have lunch at a restaurant in my neighborhood after I returned from school. While eating, I suddenly heard a lot of people shouting. From the corner of my eye, I saw a small crowd coming out of a pharmacy shop opposite the restaurant where I was eating. In the middle of them, was a furious man, who looked like the shop-owner, holding a terrified teenager by his collar.

I looked in horror as the boy was being struck and yelled at by the crowd. In the middle of all this, a packet of medicine dropped from his hands and he looked at it with () as if he could not live without it. Soon afterwards, another man from outside the crowd pushed his way through the angry mob and tried to calm everyone down. He then pulled the boy aside and talked to him about something. I could not make out what they talked about from where I was, but from what I could understand, the boy seemed much more relieved and the man walked towards the crowd with a determined look.

He handed some money to the shop-owner, picked the medicine, and handed it over to the boy. The shop-owner grumbled and left but the look on the boy’s face was priceless. It was as if he had seen an angel.

After a few years, one day, when I was working as a volunteer at the (renal ward) in the hospital in my neighborhood, I heard that a nurse there was going to donate one of his kidneys to a patient who was suffering from kidney failure.

Proficient in: Industry

“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”

Highly intrigued, I asked the nurse about why he was going to donate one of his vital organs to a patient. I also asked him whether he was the patient’s relative. To my questions, he answered, “The person whose life I am about to save today, once helped to save my mother’s life. Back when I was younger, and did not have a job, I stole some medicine from a shop to save my mother who was on her death-bed. When everyone around me accused and beat me for theft, a stranger came to my rescue. He heard my intentions for the actions I took, saved me from the angry mob, and bought the medicine with which I was able to save my mother. That stranger was this patient.” I was left speechless.

One thing people today overlook far too much is the simple yet effective act of kindness. In this cold world overtaken by selfishness and greed is a desperate need for those little acts of care. Just a helping hand or a quick show of compassion can turn another person’s day completely around. Kindness is contagious. An act of kindness is not only a good thing to do, it also makes us happier. Sharing kindness also connects us to others and helps to build a happier society for everyone. Helping others is a powerful way to boost one’s own happiness as well as the happiness of those around. And perhaps, one day, the recipient might just return the favor.

I think that people usually avoid helping others because they do not feel like allocating some of their time to helping someone as this does not bear any immediate benefits to the one who is helping. However, if everyone could go out of their way every once in a while, and help others, then the world would not be such a drab place to live in anymore.

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• Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) Organizational Analysis Pages: 5 (1499 words)
• Kindness as Quality That Is Expressed in Many Different Ways Pages: 2 (578 words)
• Tolerance and Kindness in the Novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Pages: 3 (764 words)
• Benefits of Kindness in The Will by Guy de Maupassant Pages: 2 (591 words)

July 26, 2016

Kindness Contagion

Witnessing kindness inspires kindness, causing it to spread like a virus

By Jamil Zaki

People imitate not only the particulars of positive actions, but also the spirit underlying them. This implies is that kindness itself is contagious, and that that it can cascade across people, taking on new forms along the way. 

ImageSource (MARS)

Conformity gets a bad rap, and it often deserves one. People abuse drugs, deface national parks , and spend $150,000 on tote bags after seeing others do so. Peer pressure doesn’t have to be all bad, though. People parrot each other’s voting , healthy eating , and environmental conservation efforts, too. They also “catch” cooperation and generosity from others. Tell someone that his neighbors donated to a charity, and that person will boost his own giving, even a year later . Such good conformity appears promising, but also narrow. Prior experiments, for instance, focus almost exclusively on people who observe others engage in a particular positive action (say, recycling) and later imitate that same action.

In a set of new studies , my colleagues and I highlight a broader flavor of positive conformity. We find that people imitate not only the particulars of positive actions, but also the spirit underlying them. This implies is that kindness itself is contagious, and that that it can cascade across people, taking on new forms along the way. To be a potent social force, positive conformity requires such flexibility. Not everyone can afford to donate to charity or spend weeks on a service trip to Haiti. Witnessing largesse in others, then, could inhibit would-be do-gooders who feel that they can’t measure up. Our work suggests that an individual’s kindness can nonetheless trigger people to spread positivity in other ways.

In our study, people were given a $1 “bonus” in addition to their payment for completing the study. They then viewed brief descriptions of 100 charities, and decided whether they wanted to give any of their bonus to each one. After making each donation, participants saw what they believed was the average donation made by the last 100 people in the study. In fact, we manipulated these “group donations” to influence our participants’ beliefs. Some people learned that they lived in a generous world, where people donated about three fourths of their bonus to charity. Others learned that they lived in a stingy world, where people donated only about one fourth of their bonus.

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Like other scientists, we found that participants who believed others were generous became more generous themselves. We then tested our real question: does kindness contagion transcend mere imitation? In a follow up study, people observed others donating generously or stingily, and then completed what they thought was an unrelated “pen pal” task. They read a note in which another person described the ups and downs of his last month, and wrote back. People who had watched others donate generously wrote friendlier, more empathic, and more supportive notes than those who had watched others behave greedily. This suggests that kindness evolves as it diffuses, “infecting” behaviors through which new individual can express it.

People in our studies didn’t even need to see others do anything in order to catch their kindness. In another follow-up, people read stories about the suffering of homeless individuals. After each story, they saw what they believed was the average level of empathy past participants had felt in response to its protagonist. Some people learned that their peers cared a great deal, and others learned they were pretty callous. At the end of the study, we gave participants a $1 bonus, and the opportunity to donate as much of it as they liked to a local homeless shelter. People who believed others had felt empathy for the homeless cared more themselves, and also donated twice as much as people who believed others had felt little empathy.

We still don’t fully understand the psychological forces that power kindness contagion. One possibility, supported by our own work, is that people value being on the same page with others. For instance, we’ve found that when individuals learn that their own opinions match those of a group, they engage brain regions associated with the experience of reward, and that this brain activity tracks their later efforts to line up with a group. As such, when people learn that others act kindly, they might come to value kindness more themselves.

Of course, conformity is not always a force for good. Indeed, the ill will now blanketing our country often reflects people following each other’s lead. People who hold extreme attitudes voice them loudly; when moderate individuals fall in line, groups grow more entrenched and further apart from each other. The expanding , embittering gulf between left and right in American politics highlights the volatile results of such polarization. Our work, however, suggests that conformity can drive not just animosity, but also compromise, tolerance, and warmth.

The battle between dark and light conformity likely depends on which cultural norms people witness most often. Someone who is surrounded by grandstanding and antagonism will tend towards hostile and exclusionary attitudes herself. Someone who instead learns that her peers prize empathy will put more work to empathize herself , even with people who are different from her. By emphasizing empathy-positive norms, we may be able to leverage the power of social influence to combat apathy and conflict in new ways. And right now, when it comes to mending ideological divides and cultivating kindness, we need every strategy we can find.

Jamil Zaki is an associate professor of psychology at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory . He is author of The War for Kindness .

Is kindness contagious?

Imagine that you’re approaching your favorite coffee shop, when your eyes are suddenly drawn toward an interaction between two strangers happening just outside its doors. One man sits, leaning against the glass window, knees drawn to his chest, a plastic bag of belongings on the sidewalk. Above him, a woman, hand tenderly outstretched, offers the man a few dollar bills.

As you walk past the scene and enter the coffee shop, do you consider looking in your own wallet to see whether you also have something to offer the man on the sidewalk? Do you pull out a few bills and walk outside to offer them to him, wishing you could do more?

In effect: Does the simple act of witnessing such an interaction make you feel better about your neighborhood and community?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you’re probably feeling what social scientists from UCLA’s Bedari Kindness Institute call “elevation” — an uplifting emotion often accompanied by a warm feeling in the chest, goosebumps, sometimes even tears. Hopefully, that feeling comes part and parcel with some “prosocial contagion,” or contagious kindness. Researchers from the institute, founded in 2019, have studied whether kindness can be contagious.

What they found, in short, is yes.

In a world that today seems overloaded with fractured discourse, hate speech, hate crimes, tension and trauma (read the accompanying story on the new  UCLA Initiative to Study Hate ), we might all benefit from the reminder that our own positive actions have ripple effects.

Daniel Fessler, director of the institute (which is housed in the UCLA College’s Division of Social Sciences), says, “Each of us is kind to someone, and therefore has the potential to be kind to everyone — even those with whom we differ.”

In the study, 8,000 people participated in 15 experiments. Eleven were conducted online, and four were done in person via on-the-street interviews in Los Angeles. Half of the participants watched a viral video titled “Unsung Hero,” which follows a young man as he goes through his daily routine, stopping often to help others. The other half watched a control video of a man performing impressive parkour stunts in a show of athleticism.

Those who participated in person received five $1 bills as payment for their time. At the end, researchers handed each a padded envelope and invited them to make a donation to UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. The researchers then turned away so people could anonymously choose how much money, if any, to put inside before sealing the packet.

People who viewed the “Unsung Hero” video gave 25 percent more to the charity than those who saw the athletic-stunt video.

Those surveyed online also got the chance to show their propensity for contagious kindness. Each was asked a hypothetical question: If your employer were to match donations to a worthy cause, would you be inclined to give? Those who viewed the “Unsung Hero” video were significantly more likely to commit to charitable giving: Sixty-seven percent said they would donate to charities if backed by their companies. For people who only saw the parkour video, only 47 percent answered the same way.

The insights derived from the study continue to blossom into new projects that have the potential to make our world a kinder place. Most recently, researchers at the Bedari Kindness Institute teamed up with UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers and YouTube Kids to curate a series of videos derived from this research, in an effort to inspire K-12 kids to show kindness to others as a way to negate bullying.

Released during October’s anti-bullying month, the videos promote kind, caring behavior in everyday situations. Hosted by actress Tabitha Brown, the collection is anchored by two short animated films showing people doing good deeds, followed by videos of kids who describe witnessing or performing acts of kindness. Stacey Freeman, executive director of the institute, developed a parent resource guide to help inspire kindness in children’s everyday actions. She also recruited kids ages 6-12 to create selfie-style videos as a relatable way for kids to see other kids talking about the importance of kindness.

“As a scholarly organization,” she says, “we are always seeking to translate research and knowledge into real-world applications.”

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America’s Epidemic of Unkindness

A new research institute at UCLA wants to start a virtuous cycle of generosity and do-gooding.

Take five minutes to meditate. Try to quiet the judgmental voice in your head. Call your mother. Pay for someone else’s coffee. Compliment a colleague’s work.

In an age of polarization, xenophobia, inequality, downward mobility, environmental devastation, and climate apocalypse, these kinds of Chicken Soup for the Soul recommendations can feel not just minor, but obtuse. Since when has self-care been a substitute for a secure standard of living? How often are arguments about interpersonal civility a distraction from arguments about power and justice? Why celebrate generosity or worry about niceness when what we need is systemic change?

Those are the arguments I felt predisposed to make when I read about the newly inaugurated Bedari Kindness Institute at UCLA, a think tank devoted to the study and promulgation of that squishy concept. But it turns out there is a sweeping scientific case for kindness. In some ways, modern life has made us unkind. That unkindness has profound personal effects. And if we can build a kinder society, that would make life better for everyone.

Darnell Hunt, the dean of social sciences at UCLA and a scholar of media and race, told me some of the questions the institute hopes to investigate or answer: “What are the implications of kindness? Where does it come from? How can we promote it? What are the relationships between kindness and the way the brain functions? What are the relationships between kindness and the types of social environment in which we find ourselves? Is there such a thing as a kind economy? What would that look like?”

Not like what we have now. Research proves what is obvious to anyone who has been online in the past decade: For all that the internet and social media have connected the world, they have also driven people into political silos , incited violence against minority groups , eroded confidence in public institutions and scientists , and made conspiracy theorists of us all—while making us more selfish , less self-confident, and more socially isolated .

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“The internet is largely a cesspool,” Daniel M. T. Fessler, an evolutionary anthropologist and the new institute’s director, told me. “It is not actually surprising that it is largely a cesspool. Because if there’s one thing that we know, it’s that anonymity invites antisociality.” It is easier to be a jerk when you are hiding behind a Twitter egg or a gaming handle, he explained.

The political situation is not helping matters, either. Americans have become more atomized by education, income, and political leanings. That polarization has meant sharply increased antipathy toward people with different beliefs . “We’re in this hyperpolarized environment where there’s very little conversation across perspectives,” Hunt said. “There’s very little agreement on what the facts are.”

There’s plenty of pressure for people to be unkind to themselves, too. Matthew C. Harris and his wife, Jennifer, seeded the Bedari Kindness Institute with a $20 million gift from their family foundation. For him, the topic is personal. “I wasn’t kind to myself, which has roots in my own childhood experiences. I was judgmental of myself, and therefore others. I was very perfectionistic,” he told me, reflecting on his business career. “I realized: This is not sustainable .”

The antidote seems to lie in media, economic, social, and political change—lower inequality, greater social cohesion, less stress among families, anti-racist government policy. But kindness, meaning “the feelings and beliefs that underlie actions intended to generate a benefit for another,” Fessler said, might figure in too. “Kindness is an end unto itself,” and one with spillover effects.

At a personal level, there’s ample evidence that being aware of your emotions and generous to yourself improves your physical and mental health, as well as your relationships with others. One study found that mindfulness practices aided the caretakers of people with dementia , for instance; another showed that they help little kids improve their executive function .

Read: Stop trying to raise successful kids

Kindness and its cousins—altruism, generosity, and so on—has societal effects as well. Fessler’s research has indicated that kindness is contagious . In one major forthcoming study , he and his colleagues showed some people a video of a person helping his neighbors, while others were shown a video of a person doing parkour. All the study participants were then given some money in return for taking part, and told they could put as much as they wanted in an envelope for charity. (The researchers could not see whether the participants put money in or how much they put in.)

People who saw the neighborly video were much more generous. “One of my research assistants said: ‘There’s something wrong with our accounting; something’s going haywire,’” Fessler told me. “She said, ‘Well, some of these envelopes have more than $5 in them.’” People who saw the first video were taking money out of their own wallets to give to charity, they figured. “I said, ‘That’s not something going wrong! That’s the experiment going right!’” It suggests that families or even whole communities could pitch themselves into a kind of virtuous cycle of generosity and do-gooding, and that people could be prompted to do good for their communities even with no expectation of their kind acts redounding to their own benefit.

Interpersonal empathy might translate into political change, Hunt added. “We see this [research] as being civically very important,” he said. “Take homelessness in L.A., for example. How do we get the electorate to become more empathetic and support policies necessary to make a meaningful intervention? That’s not something you can just do by fiat. People have to be brought along.”

This holiday season, there are so many ways to bring yourself and your community along—among them little things like taking five minutes to meditate, calling your mother, and paying for someone else’s coffee. Maybe kindness is not a distraction from or orthogonal to change. Maybe it is a pathway to it.

Kindness is contagious: Leslie Resnik

• Published: Nov. 24, 2019, 12:30 p.m.

Members of the National Council of Jewish Women-Cleveland's Acts of Kindness program create bouquets to brighten the days of those needing a little cheer. (Photo Courtesy of NCJW/CLE)

• Guest columnist, cleveland.com

Guest columnist Leslie Resnik is vice president of communications at NCJW/CLE and co-chair of the organization’s 125th anniversary year. A seasoned public relations pro, she’s witnessed what the power of kindness can do.

According to science , kindness is contagious. Seeing someone perform an act of kindness warms the heart, and it quite literally makes you want to be kind to someone else.

Recently, nine women ages 9 to 79 (and one young man, age 5) gathered to rearrange what looked like hundreds of thousands of roses, orchids and other flowers that had previously decorated weddings, benefits and Bar Mitzvah parties over the weekend.

We broke down the centerpieces, sorted the flowers by type, then exercised our floral skills to fashion new arrangements to be taken to residents in assisted living facilities, patients in hospitals and women in safe housing, among others needing a good dose of devotion.

This Act of Kindness happened at BigHearted Blooms , a year-old organization that spreads joy through recycled flowers. And we fell in love with the concept. We knew it had to be a part of National Council of Jewish Women Cleveland’s (NCJW/CLE ) Acts of Kindness program -- a program in which we surprise and delight community members throughout our 125th anniversary year.

As NCJW/CLE vice president of communications and co-chair of its 125th anniversary year, I couldn’t help but wonder: What effects do these random acts of kindness have in our community?

There are multiple scientific studies showing that acts of kindness -- not only doing them, but seeing them done -- can have miraculous physiological, psychological and sociological results.

Here’s why it’s good (and healthy!) to be kind:

It can activate the “love” hormone -- otherwise known as oxytocin -- which helps lower blood pressure, increase self-esteem and optimism. It can make you feel stronger and calmer and give you energy. According to this article filled with kindness facts, perpetually kind people have 23 percent less cortisol (the stress hormone) and age slower than the average population!

You can get a “helper’s high”! You feel like you were the recipient, not the giver. That’s pretty cool.

It’s contagious! Like I said before: When you’re kind, it inspires others to be, too. Who wouldn’t want to make this world a kinder place, simply by paying it forward?

I encourage you to also spread the joy, regularly (regularly is key). And just because NCJW/CLE is spreading kindness in packs, it doesn’t need to be a group sport. A compliment to a stranger, a cup of coffee purchased for the person behind you, an email sent to admire another’s behavior -- these can all release those feel-good chemicals, just as much as a beautiful bouquet of recycled flowers.

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Is Kindness Contagious?

By katelyn millinor, lpc | behavioral health quality manager.

Being kind to others is known to have lasting effects on our mental and physical health. But have you heard that kindness is contagious? That’s because it is!

Being kind lights up the pleasure center of the brain and releases serotonin and oxytocin .

• Serotonin centers our mood, happiness, and overall feelings of well-being.
• Oxytocin, often known as the “love hormone” controls social interactions, triggers the bond between mother and infant, and so much more.

The release of the hormone oxytocin is tied to decreasing blood pressure and reducing inflammation. Therefore, kindness feels good and is actually good for you.

Catching Kindness

Have you ever had a stranger pay for your coffee or hold the door for you? Experiencing an act of kindness can bring a smile to your face and improve your mood. In today’s fast-paced world, these gestures can be even more meaningful. Kindness benefits both the giver and the receiver. 

We often attach kindness to feelings of happiness. We may think of happiness as a mood or emotion, but really we are usually just feeling neutral which can make you feel cheerful. The feeling of happiness comes and goes with things like giving or receiving kindness, giving a compliment, or getting good news.

So, how can you continue giving random acts of kindness during a global pandemic? The possibilities are endless. With technology, people can send thoughtful text messages, social media comments or posts, Zoom or FaceTime interactions, and more. Outside of technology, think about leaving your mail carrier a “Thank you” letter, sending a picture or card to a front-line worker, or simply making a nice comment while picking up your groceries. Here are a few other ways to spread kindness in your day .

Everyone has experienced some sort of increased stress during this pandemic. That’s why kindness – in big and small ways – is more important than ever. Your one random act of kindness could change someone’s day and start a chain reaction of kindness!

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How kindness spreads in a community, a new study finds that when we witness kindness, we're inspired to be kind ourselves..

When we see someone being kind or generous, it gives us a warm glow feeling inside. Researchers call this “moral elevation,” and it not only feels good but inspires us to want to do good ourselves.


But how much does witnessing good affect us—and why? A new analysis of decades of research aimed to find out the answers. The results suggest that our acts of kindness and generosity, online or offline, can have meaningful ripple effects in our communities.

Researchers synthesized results from 88 experimental studies involving over 25,000 participants to measure how much our own altruism increases after witnessing someone acting “prosocially”—for example, comforting someone who is crying, donating to charity, or acting cooperatively in a competitive game. In the studies, people would read about or see someone act in a kind and helpful way, and then have the opportunity to be kind and generous themselves. The researchers also wanted to understand the reasons why witnessing goodness inspires people and to identify the factors that increase or decrease their response.

Their analysis showed a moderately strong effect, where people witnessing altruism tended to follow suit themselves. That means that when people model kind and helpful behavior, it has a healthy impact on spreading goodness in a community. 
“People resonate when they watch someone do something good,” says the study’s lead researcher, Haesung Jung. “The message that these prosocial behaviors are quite contagious is a really important message that people should know.”

To understand why this kind of modeling inspires people to help others, Jung and her colleagues considered several possible reasons. As an example, they examined whether people in the experiments may have simply been feeling pressured to “look good” by being more giving. But they found this didn’t seem to matter, as people often gave in ways they assumed would be anonymous.

The researchers also considered whether people were just copying behaviors they’d seen someone else doing. But they found that witnesses of kindness often helped in ways that did not match what they’d observed. For example, participants might have witnessed a person giving aid to someone who’d fallen on the street and end up donating more to charity when given the opportunity to pay it forward.

“There may be different reasons why people imitate others’ prosocial behavior, but we show that it’s not really about mimicry,” she says. “Instead, they seem to take on the prosocial goal and generalize it to other people and to different forms of generosity.”

In other words, people resonate with the underlying reason for doing good and become motivated themselves to spread the goodness. This suggests people are prosocial by nature, waiting for inspiration to act.

Random Acts of Kindness

How to feel happier by doing things for others

Interestingly, her analyses showed that it didn’t seem to matter how people witnessed a kind act. They could have read about it, watched a TV show where characters acted altruistically, or actually been present when someone helped another person. The effect was the same: They would act more generously themselves afterward.

Other factors also didn’t matter—like the age of the witness and whether or not they saw someone giving material help (like money) or non-material help (like comfort). This means that so many things we observe, not just the actions of the people around us but things we see in the media or online, may be subtly influencing our behavior.

But there were some factors that did affect how inspired people were to pay it forward. The more time that had passed since people witnessed an altruistic act, the lower their impetus to give.

In addition, women were more likely to want to “pay it forward” than men. Jung was not too surprised by that, as prior research had shown that women were more responsive to kindness modeling and that they tended to “prioritize relating to others and getting along with them.”

Finally, it mattered what kind of response to the kindness people observed. If witnesses saw kind people being praised or even rewarded with money, they were more likely to pay kindness forward themselves. Jung suggests that this can be useful to know if we want altruism to spread.

“It shows we need a social environment where prosocial behavior is positively reinforced in order for people to imitate that behavior more,” she says.

Her research has important implications for society—particularly now, when we need people to act in more prosocial ways by wearing masks and keeping physically distant to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If we use the power of modeling, says Jung, we can build a social norm of collaboration, cooperation, and generosity that will help us solve bigger social problems, including the pandemic and maybe even climate change.

“In organizations, educational settings, and just everyday life, it’s important to highlight kindness, caring, and good social behavior,” says Jung. “Doing good has a much larger impact than people realize.”

About the Author

Jill Suttie

Jill Suttie, Psy.D. , is Greater Good ’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine. She received her doctorate of psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1998 and was a psychologist in private practice before coming to Greater Good .

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Essay on Kindness

500 words essay on kindness.

The world we live in today has been through a lot of things from world wars to epidemics, but one thing which remained constant throughout was resilience and kindness. Moreover, it was the spirit to fight back and help out each other. Kindness must be an essential and universal quality to make the world a better place. Through an essay on kindness, we will go through it in detail.

Importance of Kindness

Kindness towards nature, animals and other people has the ability to transform the world and make it a beautiful place for living. But, it is also important to remember that kindness towards you is also essential for personal growth.

Kindness is basically being polite, compassionate and thoughtful. Every religion and faith teaches its followers to be kind. Most importantly, kindness must not limit to humans but also to every living creature.

Even nature has its own way of showing kindness. For instance, the trees grow fruits for us and provide us with shade. One must not see kindness as a core value but as a fundamental behavioural element. When you are kind to your loved ones, you create a stable base.

As people are becoming more self-centred today, we must learn kindness. We must try to integrate it into ourselves. You might not know how a small act of kindness can bring about a change in someone’s life. So, be kind always.

Kindness Always Wins

There is no doubt that kindness always wins and it has been proven time and again by people. Sid is a greedy man who does not share his wealth with anyone, not even his family members.

He also does not pay his workers well. One day, he loses his bag of gold coins and loses his temper. Everyone helps him out to search for it but no one finds it. Finally, his worker’s little son finds the bag.

Upon checking the bag, he sees all the coins are there. But, his greed makes him play a trick on the poor worker. He claims that there were more coins in the bag and the worker stole them.

The issue goes to the court and the judge confirms from Sid whether his bag had more coins to which he agrees. So, the judge rules out that as Sid’s bag had more coins , the bag which the worker’s son found is not his.

Therefore, the bag gets handed to the worker as no one else claims it. Consequently, you see how the worker’s son act of kindness won and paid him well. On the other hand, how Sid’s greediness resulted in his loss only.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Kindness

It is essential for all of us to understand the value of kindness. Always remember, it does not cost anything to be kind. It may be a little compliment or it can be a grand gesture, no matter how big or small, kindness always matters. Therefore, try your best to be kind to everyone around you.

FAQ of Essay on Kindness

Question 1: Why is it important to be kind?

Answer 1: It is important to be kind because it makes one feel good about oneself. When you do things for other people and help them with anything, it makes you feel warm and that you have accomplished something. Moreover, you also get respect in return.

Question 2: Why is kindness so powerful?

Answer 2: Kindness has a lot of benefits which includes increased happiness and a healthy heart . It slows down the ageing process and also enhances relationships and connections, which will indirectly boost your health.

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Why Kindness Is Contagious, According To Science

Senior Writer, The Huffington Post

Seeing someone perform an act of kindness can warm your heart. That feeling has a name -- it's called moral elevation , and it's that warm-and-fuzzy-on-the-inside sensation you get when you're in the presence of true human goodness.

The feeling helps to explain why kindness is, quite literally, contagious. Studies have found that this natural high makes people want to behave more altruistically towards others .

New research published in the journal Biological Psychiatry aimed to find out what moral elevation actually looks like in the brain and body . Researchers measured the brain activity and heart rates of 104 college students while they watched videos depicting either heroic acts of kindness or humorous situations.

When the students were viewing the heroic acts, activity in both the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system peaked -- an unusual combination that suggests both a fight-or-flight response and a calming, self-soothing response. When they were watching the amusing videos, there was no activation in either system.

“This is a really uncommon pattern , where you see both of these systems recruited for one emotion,” Dr. Sarina Saturn, a psychologist at Oregon State University and one of the authors of the study, told the Greater Good Science Center.

This may be because viewing a compassionate act requires us to witness suffering, which enacts a stress response and activates the sympathetic nervous system. Then, once we see the suffering alleviated through an act of kindness, our heart feels calmed and the parasympathetic nervous system is activated.

The researchers also found that activity in the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain, an area that deals with empathy and the ability to predict others' thoughts and behavior, lit up in scenarios involving someone being helped after they were physically injured -- but not in the act of kindness that was performed on someone who was not injured. That suggests that this brain region likely has some role in moral elevation, but further research is needed to determine exactly what the role is, and whether it's only activated when we see someone in pain.

Want a little moral elevation of your own? Try watching this emotional scene from It's A Wonderful Life , psychologist Jill Suttie advises :

Before You Go

How To Tell If You're Compassionate

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• Published: 14 June 2021

How kindness can be contagious in healthcare

• Weiming Tang 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Dan Wu 3 , 4 ,
• Fan Yang 2 , 3 , 5 ,
• Cheng Wang 4 ,
• Wenfeng Gong   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8929-2008 6 ,
• Kurt Gray 7 &
• Joseph D. Tucker   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2804-1181 1 , 2 , 3 , 8  

Nature Medicine volume  27 ,  pages 1142–1144 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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• Interdisciplinary studies

Pay-it-forward programs, whereby someone receives a gift or free service and then gives a gift to another person in return, have expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide an opportunity for healthcare providers to reduce costs, increase uptake of interventions such as testing and vaccines, and promote sustainability.

COVID-19 has transformed everyone’s lives and has disrupted the social fabric that weaves medicine together. Unraveled interpersonal relationships have contributed to healthcare-worker burnout, have limited access to health services and have exacerbated inequalities. Will the exhausted frontline worker help the local community group to navigate re-opening? Will the elderly person who lives alone with a disability receive additional help to receive a vaccine? Will the person living in poverty receive high-quality healthcare services? The history of infectious-disease pandemics suggests that responses to plagues are notable for silver linings in which individual people and groups are generous 1 . We define ‘generosity’ as the capacity to give more than is necessary or expected 2 . COVID-19-related messages, fundraising projects and community-engagement activities have demonstrated substantial generosity in these uncertain times 3 , 4 , 5 . This generosity not only showcases the endurance of the human spirit but also may provide a way to help control infectious diseases. Here we review how systematically harnessing the psychological impulse for one form of generosity—pay it forward—can encourage healthy behaviors and mobilize community resources.

It pays to be kind

In a pay-it-forward system, a person receives a gift from someone (or from a community organization, clinic or government) and then is provided the opportunity to give a gift to another 6 (Fig. 1 ). It is an example of upstream reciprocity theory, which suggests that people who are helped by someone feel a ‘warm glow’ that makes them more likely to help other, unspecified people. After a person receives help from someone, there is a perceived social obligation to help another person who needs it. The pay-it-forward approach can increase community solidarity and decrease some of the financial barriers to health services. Two systematic reviews found that being kind (i.e., a prosocial behavior) was associated with well-being, especially psychological function 7 and subjective well-being 8 . In addition, there are potential organizational benefits associated with upstream reciprocity, including improved teamwork, enhanced creativity and stronger engagement 9 . Pay-it-forward approaches have been used widely outside of medicine. Human studies demonstrate that cooperative human behavior may be contagious and may spread through social networks 10 .

Social solidarity probably promotes a sense of obligation to contribute to others.

Generosity ripples

The pay-it-forward concept has a long history. Aesop, the ancient Greek storyteller, observed, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Later in ancient Greece, the comedy Dyskolos used this as a central component of its plot. The idea of paying for someone else was popularized by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. Franklin described how he lent money to others without the expectation of their paying it back, but instead with the notion that this act of generosity could ripple forward among friends 11 . Another example of the pay-it-forward approach comes from mathematician Paul Erdős. Already an established and well-recognized mathematics professor, Erdős discovered that an incoming Harvard University mathematics student would be unable to pay his fees. He supported the student in attending the university, and the student later offered to pay him back. Erdős suggested that the student find another student in need and instead pay it forward 12 . In the past ten years, similar pay-it-forward programs have been implemented in many settings, including providing a free cup of coffee in a café, a free beer in a pub, a free ice cream from a shop and a free hamburger from a restaurant. Both locally owned stores and large corporations have used the pay-it-forward concept to spur generosity in local communities.

Within medicine, the pay-it-forward principle is exemplified in the practice of mentorship. The informal and formal wisdom passed from mentors to mentees is often serendipitous and contagious. Mentors provide the unprompted give of time, energy and guidance to the next generation. Over time, mentees transition to become mentors for others. Mentorship creates virtuous cycles within institutions, spurring contagious kindness. A study from the Roberts Woods Johnson Foundation found that scholars who had received mentorship were more likely to serve as effective mentors for others 13 . Beyond mentorship, pay-it-forward approaches have been used in health research to increase diagnostic test uptake and vaccine uptake.

Increased testing

Pay-it-forward approaches have increased testing for sexually transmitted infection among sexual minorities in China 6 . The approach was iteratively developed through the use of crowdsourcing open calls to build community ownership and nurture trust 14 , 15 . Men who have sex with men (MSM) received a free testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia alongside community messages, and were then asked if they wished to donate money or create messages to sustain testing for sexually transmitted infection among subsequent MSM. An observational study enrolled 408 men at MSM-led clinics and compared the rates of testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia during a pay-it-forward period with those observed during a standard-of-care period in which patients paid for their own tests. The uptake rates of testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia were ninefold higher among men who underwent the pay-it-forward testing strategy (54% compared with 6%). Among all men who received testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia, this was the first test for 97 of 121 (80%) of the MSM. A subsequent randomized controlled trial confirmed the effectiveness of the approach and showed that donations supported approximately 40% of the total cost of the service 6 . Details about the total amount donated and people tested were shared back to the MSM community on a weekly basis, which increased transparency and trust in the process. Mixed-methods research suggested that the ‘warm glow’ effect strengthened a sense of engagement among the MSM who participated in and organized the project 16 . The project strengthened social bonds between MSM, nurturing a sense of solidarity.

Vaccine uptake

Pilot data suggest that in addition to aiding sexual health, a pay-it-forward approach may increase uptake of vaccination against influenza 17 . Elderly people and caregivers (parents or grandparents of children) were given a free vaccine against influenza and community-engaged messages, then were asked whether they want to support vaccines against influenza for others in the local community. Data from a pilot study showed that 83% (83 of 100) of participants received a vaccine against influenza after receiving the pay-it-forward intervention, compared with 35% (32 of 92) among those who were offered a fee-based influenza vaccine 17 . After receiving a free vaccine, 98.8% (82 of 83) of people donated money. The mean donation per person was US$5.2, which was over half of the market price of vaccinating a child against influenza. 18% (15 of 83) of people created a text, image or video in support of vaccination against influenza. The community-participatory components of a pay-it-forward approach also helped improve people’s confidence in a vaccine. Further research on how pay-it-forward approaches could increase vaccination against influenza is needed.

Spreading kindness during COVID-19

Pay-it-forward principles have been used in the response to COVID-19 to enhance messaging, fundraising and community support. The United Nations and World Health Organization organized a crowdsourcing open call to creative people, including a category focused on spreading kindness 4 . This category received 689 artworks that are now freely available online through Creative Commons ( https://unitednations.talenthouse.com/ ) (Fig. 2 ). Second, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine organized a #BumpItForward campaign to support the provision of COVID-19-related equipment and supplies for frontline health workers in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi 5 . The campaign raised £174,183 from 3,565 supporters that provided support for critical COVID-19 efforts.

a , Open-access image created by Lucie Rice for this crowdsourcing open call (CC-BY). b , Open-access image created by Justin Teodoro for this crowdsourcing open call (CC-BY).

Similar campaigns have been established to build on the ‘warm glow’ after vaccination against COVID-19 and help direct generous people to support such vaccination in low- and middle-income countries 18 . The City of London’s COVID-19 pay-it-forward crowdfunding campaign raised over £1.5M from 20,000 people for small businesses to rebuild in response to COVID-19 19 . The project included a free platform for fundraising and tailored support for small businesses.

Finally, pay-it-forward principles have been used to structure community-support activities focused on COVID-19. Many mutual-aid groups have used pay-it-forward programs to provide material support, advice and encouragement to other local people 3 . A related example is time banking, a mutual-support approach whereby people contribute volunteer service hours to help others in need within their local community and are then rewarded with time credits or currency that can be used for ordering volunteer services from subsequent volunteers 20 . Time banking, like a pay-it-forward program, relies on individual and collective kindness in order to address health problems. Time banking has been piloted to enhance elderly care 21 .

Looking forward

The pay-it-forward principle has limitations. First, pay-it-forward approaches can expand access to services associated with a fee, but would not be intended to replace government services. Rather than delaying public provision of services, a pay-it-forward program could draw attention to new models that could then be supported by the government or other partners. This may be particularly useful in low- and middle-income countries in which government resources for health are limited. Second, pay-it-forward programs have yet to be scaled up. The broad involvement of community-based stakeholders in pilot pay-it-forward projects suggests that this approach could be integrated into community practices. Implementation research to inform the expansion of pay-it-forward services in the era of COVID-19 is essential. Third, the novelty of the pay-it-forward concept and the involvement of monetary donations may sometimes cause confusion and doubt among potential participants. Mechanisms to ensure accountability and trustworthiness in a pay-it-forward program are key to program maintenance. Fourth, initial pay-it-forward projects have yet to receive sufficient donations to make them independent. At the same time, pay-it-forward approaches are not standalone interventions but are an approach to reduce costs, increase uptake and promote sustainability.

Pay-it-forward approaches could be useful for introducing new health interventions before their formal integration into government health services. Pilots are underway focused on various subpopulations (such as youth, or female sex workers) and diseases (such as vaccination against human papillomavirus, or testing for hepatitis). Given that many evidence-based health interventions take years and sometimes decades to implement, a formal mechanism to support health interventions during this period may be useful. Pragmatic trials, participatory research and related implementation science could help to scale up this approach. The pay-it-forward approach is not a panacea, but such experiences of unexpected generosity shine more brightly during these dark COVID-19 days. The contagious generosity of frontline health workers and local citizens may be one of the silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Acknowledgements

Supported by the US National Institutes of Health (NIAID K24AI143471 and R01AI158826), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges, the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, the Charles Koch Foundation (Center for the Science of Moral Understanding) and the Guangdong Provincial Dermatology Hospital. The funding sources had no part in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing of the report, and decision to submit the paper for publication.

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Weiming Tang, Dan Wu, Fan Yang & Joseph D. Tucker

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I’ve written, and I speak a lot, about how we are contagious, although not in the usual sense of the word where we catch the cold from each other, but in how our emotions are contagious.

Social network research shows that if you feel happy, for instance, you not only infect your friends with happiness, but you also infect your friends’ friends and even your friends’ friends’ friends – out to a radius of three social steps. This is partly facilitated through mirror neurons, specialised cells in the brain that mirror our physical expressions of emotion.

But I set out to research this field because I wanted to see if I could find evidence to support the idea that a small group of people with compassion and kindness in their hearts could change the world. I wanted to know, specifically, if kindness is contagious.

To me it is pretty obvious. If someone does something kind for you, you feel better and are more likely to help out someone else. So that person’s kindness has been contagious in that it has infected you. Similarly, each time you do something kind for anyone, whether it’s a family member, friend or a stranger, your kindness is also contagious. Please know that it doesn’t stop with that person.

As you go about the rest of your day, repercussions of your kind behaviour continue to ripple on, just as a pebble dropped in a pond creates waves that lift a lily pad at the other side of the pond.

I believe that kindness is contagious in three ways. The first is that we feel elevated when someone helps us. We’re on the crest of an emotional wave for a short time and from this state we feel inspired to help other people.

Depending upon the situation, we might also feel relieved when someone helps us, especially if the situation we’re in is stressful. This reduces the stress or worry and we feel a surge of relief. Stress and worry often obstruct our real nature, which contains strong undercurrents of compassion and kindness. When stress goes away and is replaced with a feeling of relief, we’re more likely to act on opportunities to help others.

The third way is that when we see someone being kind, something inside tells us that this is what we should be doing and so we are inspired by the observation of another’s kind behaviour. This is called social contagion.

Kindness is natural to us. It’s odd, but much business has traditionally been done based on the mistaken idea that humans are inherently selfish and look out only for themselves. This has played a role in establishing the competition business model and also made it OK to gain at the expense of another’s loss. This, in my opinion, has played a big role in the economic challenges that face us now.

But actually, what’s natural to us is cooperating with each other, working together, and showing heaps of compassion and kindness. Our genetic ancestors survived hundreds of thousands of years because they learned to work together and to help each other. They thrived because they cared when someone was hurt and because they helped each other. We are here today because they learned that the best way to thrive as a species was to be kind.

And we can see the genetic wiring quite clearly today. Oxytocin is a hormone heavily involved in empathy, compassion and kind behaviour. Kindness creates emotional bonds, which elevate oxytocin levels. Studies show that there are 15 variants, or ‘colours’, in just a small section of the oxytocin receptor gene (that’s the gene that produces the sites on the cells that oxytocin binds to). Those with a lighter shade, so to speak, tend to show more kind behaviour, whereas those with a darker shade are less likely to help others. It is evidence like this that confirms, scientifically, that being kind is a natural thing in us, that the tendency has a strong genetic component. We are not wired to be selfish. We are wired to be kind.

Thus, the solution for the world economy is not in more competition – being bigger, better, and stronger than everyone else – but in more cooperation, just like the solutions to many of our own challenges in our lives lies in cooperation. The seeds of the path ahead lie in kindness towards one another because cooperation builds upon kindness. We need to extend our hands to others.

And just how contagious is kindness? Well, just like emotions, a Harvard study found that kindness also affects our friends, our friends’ friends, and our friends’ friends’ friends. Kindness ripples out to a radius of three social steps.

The research, led by Professor Nicholas Christakis, asked volunteers to play a business game known as the ‘Public Goods’ game, where each person has to put money into a public pot to benefit the community. When one person made a larger donation into the public pot it caused some of those in the group to make larger donations in the next round of the game, which they played with different people. The people in that round, observing the larger donation, then went on to raise their donations in the following round. And similarly, those in that round raised their donations in the next round. The effect of one person’s kind behaviour affected the tone of the game for three successive rounds.

So consider this: this is the holiday season, the season where we traditionally show more goodwill towards each other than normal, so with each act of goodwill you show someone, pause for a second and reflect on the fact that your act of kindness will ripple far further than just the environment you’re in.

My experience shows me that when you have this in mind, you’re more likely to show even more goodwill, and more often, because you start to realise that you really can make a difference.

So with this is mind, can a small group of dedicated people with compassion and kindness in their hearts change the world?

What do you think? I think we can!

[…] 1 Hamilton, D. (2011). David R Hamilton PhD | How Kindness is ContagiousDavid R Hamilton PhD. Retrieved 23 January 2021, from https://drdavidhamilton.com/how-kindness-is-contagious/  […]

[…] bestselling author and kindness scientist Dr. David R Hamilton explains, it’s actually really […]

[…] to Dr. David Hamilton, when people receive kindness, they feel compelled to do the same thing to others. Hence, people […]

© 2024 David R Hamilton PHD from Ready Steady Websites

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February 17, 2023

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Why Kindness Matters

Boosts to life satisfaction and physical and mental well-being..

Posted March 8, 2023 | Reviewed by Vanessa Lancaster

• What Is Resilience?
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• Showing up kindly for others benefits both parties.
• Kindness has the power to boost satisfaction, happiness, and physical and mental well-being.
• Each of us has the capacity to show up kindly and make a difference in the world of another.

Kindness is about showing up in the world with compassion and acting for the greater good of all. While being nice is about being polite, pleasant, and agreeable and doing what we think we should, kindness goes a step beyond.

Kind humans know that life is hard, messy, and complex. Yet they understand that people are doing their best with the tools, resources, and experience they carry. Charles Glassman captured this by saying, “Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle.”

Many people view kindness as a weakness, but it's quite the opposite. It is a sign of strength. It is moving from "me" to "we," seeing the bigger picture, and loaning someone your strength and support. Supporting someone by doing whatever you can, wherever you are, with whatever you have is a sign of who you are—a kind human.

Kindness is doing the things that may go without acknowledgment and thanks. Authentic and intentional kindness doesn’t expect anything in return. We can practice kindness for kindness’ sake, not for the personal gain or the approval of others.

Kindness is a universal language that can bring people together regardless of age, race, ethnicity , religion, status, and identity . The good news is that it’s completely free too! I don’t think the saying “kindness makes the world go ‘round” came about without reason.

Benefits of Kindness

Most of us will have heard that "doing good is good for you" or "it’s better to give than to receive." It may be a surprise to learn that the research genuinely supports this. When we show up for others kindly, the benefits go both ways. Practicing kindness for the sake of kindness is one of the greatest gifts we can give to others and ourselves.

Research shows that being kind boosts the production of the feel-good hormones (serotonin and dopamine ), which give feelings of satisfaction and well-being, and activate the pleasure and reward areas in the brain of the givers and receivers. Endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller, can also be released and contribute to a "helper’s high." Kindness also fosters our sense of belonging and helps us build and strengthen our relationships (Hamilton, 2017).

Research shows that performing acts of kindness and helping others improves the happiness of the helper (Curry et al., 2018; Hamilton, 2017). A study by Rowland and Curry (2019) found that people who performed kindness activities for seven days experienced greater happiness. The increase in happiness was true whether the social tie was a friend, family member, stranger, or themselves. As you might expect, the more kind activities one does, the greater the boost in happiness. Even just observing acts of kindness had positive effects on one’s happiness.

In his book, The Five Side Effects of Kindness , David Hamilton discusses how we experience the effects of kindness throughout our entire nervous system . He suggests that kindness is good for the heart because the warm feelings we get help to generate oxytocin , which can reduce our blood pressure and stress hormone, cortisol. He also supports the idea that kindness is contagious and how acting kindly can create a ripple effect and inspire others to do the same.

Ways to Practice Kindness

Here are some ways you can practice kindness:

• Be kind to yourself. In my last post , I talked about how we could all use a gentle reminder about being a little kinder to ourselves. For many of us, showing up kindly starts with repairing the relationship we have with ourselves. I provided some restorative and practical ideas for how we can start to show up kindly for ourselves. When we are kinder with ourselves, we are kinder to others.
• Practice the kindergarten basics. Manners, turn-taking, including others, and comforting that friend who fell and scraped their knee. A kind environment is the compound of many small, kind acts.
• Show gratitude . When we feel grateful, we need to share this with others. Recognize and bring attention to what uplifts you. Tell someone they are doing a great job. End your work week by emailing someone who helped you out that week. Text or call a loved one to tell them they make a difference in your life.
• Listen to understand, not respond or problem-solve . So often, when others are talking, we think about how we will reply or what solutions we will provide. The truth is that being present, and listening, is a form of showing the kindness that can make another feel heard, understood, and truly felt. Next time you ask someone how they are, hold space and really listen to what they have to say.

Being kind is about showing up as your true self and inviting others to come as they are, too. It is meeting yourself and others with compassion and understanding in the present moment. Each of us can be why someone believes there are good people in this world.

So, kindness might not make the world go 'round (we have momentum and gravity to thank for that), but kindness does certainly make the world a better place.

Think about the power that a kind gesture, a kind hand, a kind word, or a listening ear can have on someone in a moment when they feel like their world is crumbling. Think about the way that it can make an already-good day that much better. Now think about the positive impact on the giver’s physical and mental health. The power of kindness is remarkable.

We may never know just how big of an impact our small acts of kindness have on someone else. But we know that kind humans doing kind things are exactly what this unwell world needs more of.

Although it may not be your first time hearing this one, I will leave you with this final ask:

“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” —Unknown

Facebook image: Aloha Hawaii/Shutterstock

LinkedIn image: Dmytro Zinkevych/Shutterstock

Curry, O. S., Rowland, L. A., Van Lissa, C. J., Zlotowitz, S., McAlaney, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2018). Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 76 , 320-329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.02.014

Hamilton, D. (2017). The five side effects of kindness: This book will make you feel better, be happier & live longer . Hay House UK.

Rowland, L., & Curry, O. S. (2019). A range of kindness activities boost happiness. The Journal of Social Psychology, 159 (3), 340-343. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2018.1469461

Robyne Hanley-Dafoe, Ed.D. , is a resiliency and wellness scholar and speaker, author of Calm Within the Storm and Stress Wisely , and award-winning instructor and adjunct professor at Trent University.

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ESSAY: Up for a 7-day Kindness Challenge?

By Melinda Burrell

When was the last time someone was kind to you? Or you were kind to someone else?

What were the ripple effects of those moments?

A few days ago, a colleague offered to help me meet a deadline since he had extra time and I was busy. It made me feel appreciated and supported, and eager to aid him in return. Also a few days ago, I wrote a “thinking of you” note to a friend going through a tough time. She was surprisingly grateful, which made the rest of my day feel lighter and more meaningful.

None of this would surprise scientists. The “science of kindness” finds that being kind to others not only makes us happier but also healthier. Literally. According to the Mayo Health Clinic, when we are kind, our blood pressure goes down and our serotonin and dopamine—the well-being and satisfaction chemicals in our brain—go up.

Being kind helps us as individuals. It also makes our communities healthier. Kindness is contagious. One study showed this by giving participants a certain amount of money, having some of them receive a kind act, and then give part of their money to a stranger. Those who had received a kindness were more generous than those who hadn’t. They paid the kindness forward.

We’re so wired to respond to kindness that we don’t even have to actually do it. We become more generous if we just think about doing something kind, or if we see another person do a kindness. This even works in polarized situations. Another study found that thinking about kindness (“befriending meditation”) can reduce our negative feelings about people from the other political party.

So why don’t we do kind acts more often?

We tend to underestimate exactly how meaningful it will be for the other person when we are kind. We’re shy.

We can get over this. We can treat kindness like a muscle, practicing and strengthening our ability. An Oxford University study showed that doing a kind action every day for seven days increased people’s happiness. The more kind acts participants did, the happier they were, regardless of whether the kindness was towards, family, friends, strangers, or themselves.

Better yet, we can treat kindness as a mentality rather than a sequence of actions. We can think about how we can live more compassionately, more patiently, more generously with each other and ourselves.

Up for it a 7-day kindness challenge? Kindness.org and the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation have ideas. Gather your family, a work or sports team, or a book club. Set a goal for numbers of acts of kindness for the week. Reach out to someone who might be lonely or down, hold your tongue instead of making a snarky remark, compliment someone you see on the street, pick up a piece of litter, leave a generous tip.

Then talk about how it made you feel. Did you feel more connected? Satisfied? Lighter? Did you start to identify more opportunities for kindness? Can kindness become our mindset?

Melinda Burrell, PhD, is a former humanitarian aid worker and now trains on the neuroscience of communication and conflict.

The Pagosa Daily Post welcomes submissions, photos, letters and videos from people who love Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Call 970-903-2673 or email [email protected]

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Kindness is Contagious More often than not kindness is mistaken for manners in the world we live in. The level of awareness a person has of kindness may determine the outlook he or she sees. Some say that kindness is scarce in the world we live in. The way people perceive kindness depends on his or her outlook on life. A positive outlook on life helps to determine how ubiquitous kindness actually is. This becomes helpful when trying to notice kindness in everyday situations. This may lead into how kindness strengthens or weakens people. Kindness related to strength could increase the mental health of someone and how he or she eventually becomes a mentally strong person. Strengthening in the kindness aspect usually is someone who genuinely …show more content…

They play a role in kindness, but they are not the same. Manners are also taught at a young age. Teaching manners includes an older figure using them in a role model figure. For example, if someone were to burp, he or she would follow with an “excuse me” to be considered proper etiquette. Common mistakes between kindness and manners include holding the door open for someone, or letting a lady go in front of a man in a line. Younger generations often consider these manners kindness because they are raised in that type of society. I can testify to this because I am raised in the generation where manners are lacking. Often time’s people walk into buildings without looking behind them to see if a person is trailing him or her; however, the polite thing is to hold the door open for him or …show more content…

My personal reasoning behind this is all the videos posted online about random acts of kindness. Kindness shouldn’t be spread throughout the community by posting videos to make it become a viral aspect. An example is when a woman went into the grocery store to buy a homeless man some food. The woman then proceeded to take a selfie recording of herself and what she had just done. I understand she wanted to record it because she felt as if she had just completed a good deed, but in all reality she had done it to gain fame across the internet. This may have not been her intentions, but humans are made to crave attention according to Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. As mentioned before the strengthening of a certain human ’s mental status, this would have a negative impact; therefore, making that certain person a negative attention seeker without realization of it. Mentioned in earlier paragraphs doing an act of kindness in a genuine way comes from the heart. This is a strengthening aspect to help improve the kindness spread throughout the world. The people who perform genuine acts of kindness are the people who don’t seek attention after. They are the people who pay it forward in hopes it makes someone else’s day. The majority of people who seek kindness deep down are more likely to receive it back, instead of those who center his or hers actions around

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Everyday we see someone that needs help in the community or a friend, family, or even someone at your school. Some of our greatest leaders have told us that one small act of kindness can make the world a more enjoyable place. Martin Luther King was among one of those many leaders and has created the greatest change in our society’s history. Civilization cannot merely exist without the help of one another and our society would end if humanity decided to stop being kind or compassionate. Our professors and teachers give us the materials and assistance we all need in order to reach great measures in our future. Small acts of kindness have even inspired the most influential people and has led them to

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More about Goodness Essay: Kindness Is Contagious?

Related topics.

Kindness Essay

Kindness essay is a reflection on the idea of kindness, which is an act of selflessness. Because kindness doesn’t come with the expectation of receiving anything in return, it is a great way to show your appreciation for what you have received in life.

Kindness is always an excellent choice to make in any situation. When someone feels bad or down, the kindness shown can make a person feel more supported and loved. It is an action that anyone can do.

Importance of Kindness Essay

Kindness is a simple yet powerful gesture. It can positively impact someone’s life, and the ripple effect is just as powerful. In the academic community, kindness is thought to be an attitude that influences achievement among people.

Kindness is a form of love and compassion and one that needs to spread throughout the world. It allows people to see the best in others, encouraging them to be their best selves. Allowing kindness to exist for those around us is beneficial for them and ourselves.

It is our responsibility as human beings to be kind to other people. We can be considerate and compassionate towards other people to live in peace and love. Kindness is a virtue, and it is one of the essential things in life. It shows other people that you care about them and takes away some of the pain and suffering that they may be feeling. It can also help heal others, and everyone should always try to think about how their actions will affect others before taking them.

Kindness is vital in every single person’s life. It makes the world a better place and can make someone feel loved. With the help of kindness, you can start your good deeds to make the world a better place.

You can find more essays similar to the kindness essay on BYJU’S website. Also, explore a wide range of exciting kids’ learning resources on the website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is kindness.

Kindness is a simple gesture that can positively impact someone’s life. It also helps people be compassionate and considerate towards others.

Why is kindness important?

Kindness is important because it is our responsibility to be kind to others. This helps people to live in peace and love. As a virtue, kindness is one of the essential things in life. It helps us be empathetic towards people and extend our hands to support them.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book "Making Habits, Breaking Habits" (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean