42% is a pretty impressive figure to improve your happiness by. Believe it or not, we are actually happier giving to others than when we receive ourselves.
According to a famous study by Dr Sonja Lyubomirsky (who is a Professor devoted to studying human happiness), people who were engaged in 5 random acts of kindness a week for a 6 week period were reported to have shown an increase in happiness of 42%. What's equally impressive, is that the recipients often paid the kind acts forward too. Just think if we could affect the whole world by passing on random acts of kindness!
We often think "We will be happy when ……" when actually happiness is an internal feeling which can be experienced within us and can be accessed at any time. We just need to make sure we are in the right frame of mind for it and by doing things for others, we can put ourselves in that right frame of mind.
When setting goals, I encourage my clients to enjoy the journey along the way as often we can forget about living in the present moment. It's great to have goals as they give us a purpose and focus but chances are if we don't enjoy them as we are doing them, we probably won't be happy when we've achieved the goal either. Plus you are much more likely to carry out your tasks if you make them enjoyable rather than a chore.
I do think it's important to 'not give to receive' but to give because we enjoy giving. Even a simple smile can brighten up someone's day! If you read my previous blog, you will see that a very kind anonymous person posted a beautiful uplifting letter through my letterbox - this uplifted me for the whole day and has inspired me to do the same for somebody else.
So why not set yourself a mini goal today and give 5 random acts of kindness a week for a 6 week period and see if you are 42% happier!
Wishing you love and happiness!
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