When I was growing up, my older and more experienced brother would always tell me to “be nice to everyone, you never know who they’ll become.” When he first started teaching me this, I always just assumed it was to make friends with people that will become rich and successful. Taking it at that face value, I consciously chose to be friends with as many people as possible.
As I went through life, I strived to become friends with everyone I crossed paths with. This become a habit. The mindset around it began to shift. I realized how happy it made me. I felt joy because I had strong circles of friends. As I grew older, I asked my brother about this. “What did you mean when you told me to make friends with everyone?” He smiled, and replied, “It’s in our DNA to have a strong circles of friends, I knew it would enhance your life.” He went on to explain it doesn’t matter who they become financially, it matters who they became as a person. We need varying types of personalities in our circles in life to excel. In addition to building our team in life, being nice to people is actually good for you.
According to The Huffington Post, these are the 6 ways being nice to others can benefit your life:
- 1. It may be a natural behavior. Whether we’re wired for “niceness” or just brought up on it, our good nature is something that’s ingrained in us from an early age.
- 2. It could help us live longer. Studies show that those who volunteer reap health benefits that may help you live longer, ABC News reported.
- 3. We’re happier when we’re kind. The motive may be a little selfish, but being nice to others doesn’t just benefit them, it clearly works in our favor, too, by instantly boosting our mood.
- 4. It may be the key to success. “People trust you more, they have better interactions with you, you even get paid better,” Dacher Keltner, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley and co-director of the Greater Good Science Center.
- 5. It may bring you less stress. One study on baboons found that “alpha males” experienced higher stress levels, suggesting that those “nice guys” may be healthier.
- 6. It just feels better. According to clinical psychologist Lara Honos-Webb, Ph.D. “When we help others and do kind acts, it causes our brain to release endorphins, the chemicals that give us feelings of fervor and high spirits — similar to a ‘runner’s high.”
When I go anywhere today, I strive to be kind to people. I love the feeling of simply walking into the grocery store and being able to say hi to the cashier that i’ve made friends with before. I have an endless amount of people I can call on any given day. Life is just better this way. If this is a new idea to you, it’s easy to start. Just begin practicing by saying hi to strangers, complimenting friends more, and smiling. Once you begin to feel the benefits, it’s hard to not live this way.
At Tree House Recovery helps men find freedom from addiction. Our treatment programs create sustainable change for sustainable recovery. Call us 24/7 at: (855) 202-2138
