Do you feel like you’re living in a dog-eat-dog world? We’re all so worried about ourselves that we sometimes fail to see the bigger picture. It’s almost like we no longer embrace a sense of community. Maybe we lack compassion? And that would be sad. You see, compassion is a powerful emotion and it has many research-based benefits.
You Will Be Happier
Showing compassion to others isn’t purely altruistic. When you help someone else, it boosts your own happiness. A study from Harvard showed that donating money can make you happier than using it on yourself.
Makes You More Attractive
Positive personality traits like kindness and compassion have been shown to increase people’s perceptions of attractiveness. People rated headshots more attractive when they were attached to a trait like compassion.
Improves Your Relationships
Being compassionate is a key to solid relationships. Whether romantic or not, people are more comfortable and receptive to you if you show compassion towards them and others.
Uplifts Your Community
Compassion isn’t just powerful in your direct relationships. It can help uplift the world around you. Compassionate acts have a way of spreading like wildfire. James Fowler examined this phenomenon in a study that showed acts of kindness spread just as easily as bad acts.
Improves Your Mental Well-Being
Compassion isn’t just about other people. We must practise self-compassion as well. We often find it easier to be compassionate towards others than towards ourselves. Studies show that self-compassion is indisputably linked to an individual’s well-being.
Boosts Your Self-Esteem
Compassion behaviour such as donating, volunteering and helping people in other ways has been shown to increase both academic aspirations and self-esteem among teenagers.
Increases Health and Longevity
Compassion doesn’t just boost adolescents’ self-esteem. It’s also linked to improve mortality rates among older volunteers. Compassionate behaviours like volunteering address older people’s individual and societal needs.
Helps You Resolve Conflicts
No matter how much you try to avoid it, conflict is bound to pop up in your life. Compassion can help you address conflict more effectively. You will find it much easier to put yourself in someone else’s shoes when you show compassion.
You Become Calmer
When you strive to be more compassionate, you will find that you’re naturally more patient and less irritated by external circumstances. You will find it easier to forgive small transgressions, and more issues will roll off your back.
FAST-ACTION STEPS
1. Do something compassionate for a loved one. Who in your life needs an out-of-the-blue pick-me-up?
2. Do something compassionate for yourself. When was the last time you did something just for yourself?
3. Do something compassionate for someone you don’t know. Do you ever volunteer? Do you get involved in social causes? Find something local that interests you and start small. It might grow on you!
Donna S. Vieira is a certified Gentle Trauma Release Practitioner and Astro-Empowerment Coach who uses her knowledge of Astrology in sessions with her clients. She’s also a published freelance travel and lifestyle writer, blogger, and editor who has traveled the globe. You can read about some of her travels at FromMyTravelBag.com. She and her chef husband, Fernando, own Globetrotters Bed & Breakfast/Gallery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, where they have been welcoming guests from around the world since 2002.