Statewide Iowa (RI) – If you haven’t made an “Iowa Nice” gesture in a while, today’s the day. Thursday is World Kindness Day, and the action doesn’t have to be anything expensive or dramatic, just kind.
Iowa State University Psychology Professor Douglas Gentile says even thinking kind thoughts can have a powerful effect. He says a recent ISU study involved sending students onto campus with the instructions they were to wish people well, in their minds.
Gentile says the simple act of wishing happiness for others, and really meaning it, makes people feel happier themselves.
That study also featured a separate group of people who were told to perform nice gestures for themselves, things like taking a bubble bath or buying themselves a tasty treat.
The rationale is, if you continue making a daily effort to do something nice for someone else, it’ll become a trend.
It might be a good habit to spend less time on social media.
“It’s almost impossible not to make comparisons on social media, which can lead us to feel envy, jealously, anger and disappointment in response to what we see others post,” Gentile says. “These emotions disrupt our sense of well-being.”
KIWA Staff Photo
