Discover the Hidden Secret To Finding and Keeping Happiness

Lisa Franchi November 08, 2012

In what way does compassion improve our well-being?

1. It makes you happy.

In a study led by Jordan Grafman, a neuroscientist from the National Institute of Health, it was found that the regions in the brain, also known as “pleasure centres”, which are active when people experience pleasurable activities like having sex, eating and receiving money, are also active when they see other people giving money to charity. In fact, people gain more satisfaction when giving money than spending it for their own needs. Another study carried out by Harvard researchers found similar results. For their experiment, the Harvard research team gave a sum of money to two groups and instructed the first one to spend money on others, and the other group to spend money on themselves. Participants who spent their money for other people showed higher levels of happiness and well-being as compared to those who spent money for their own.

2. It broadens your perspective.

Being compassionate doesn’t just make you happy, but it also makes you wiser. Research on anxiety and depression reveals that the unhappiness people feel in such conditions are highly self-focused. By opening our mind and heart to others, we broaden our perspective and tend to free ourselves from the confinements of our personal conflicts.

3. It makes you more beautiful.

Those beautiful trinkets, clothes and shoes can make you more attractive but for any relationship to thrive, the beauty from within is much more important. Every one of us wants to be loved and accepted. A study shows that one of the most desired traits by both men and women when it comes to finding an intimate partner is kindness.

4. It makes you healthy and lengthens your life.

For a healthy body, there is a need for a sound mind. Researchers from the Stonybrook University found that connecting with others in a meaningful way does not just improve our sense of well-being, but may also lengthen our lives. It also helps sick people recover from their illness faster, suggests Martin Seligman and Ed Diener in their research.

5. It makes you richer.

If you give money to others, how will it make you richer? The saying “when you give, it will come back to you a thousand fold” might be true. A study by the Harvard Business School reveals that when we give money away, our sense of wealth and abundance increases – strengthening our mindset and motivating us to work harder.

Decades of research suggest that being compassionate is hard-wired among us. Humans are naturally loving, generous, and kind. Even rats know how to empathise and help out another suffering rat, a ground breaking study by the University of Chicago found.

So if compassion is innate among us, there is no reason why we can’t apply it in our daily life. After all, being compassionate does have a lot of benefits.

What do you find gives you the most happiness? Is it predictable or unexpect?

Source of this article:

The Best Kept Secret to Happiness