This week, we celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Day, an event we love celebrating here at People Lab. Random Acts of Kindness (or RAOK) are simple, free or inexpensive acts that anyone can do, to spread a little kindness and brighten someone’s day. It could be a colleague, friend, family member or stranger – the point is, it’s a selfless act.
Performing Random Acts of Kindness has been shown to increase happiness levels, and in turn improve our performance and success. This isn’t just a notion – it’s scientific, with its feet firmly grounded in positive psychology.
What is positive psychology?
Psychologist Dr Christopher Peterson defines it as:
‘Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living. It is a call for psychological science and practice to be as concerned with strength as with weakness; as interested in building the best things in life as in repairing the worst; and as concerned with making the lives of normal people fulfilling as with healing pathology.’
While positive psychology doesn’t claim to have all the answers, it does go some way in helping us to understand the conditions under which individuals can flourish and thrive. It’s often misunderstood, as a branch of new-age positive thinking – but the science behind it is pretty straight-forward.
When we experience positive emotions, our serotonin and dopamine levels rise. These are neurotransmitters (chemicals released by nerve cells, to send signals to other nerve cells). These chemicals make us feel good, and enhance our ability to learn and absorb information.
At People Lab, positive psychology is central to everything we do. Numerous studies tell us that starting with happiness leads to success. Many of us start our working lives with the opposite approach: work hard, then work harder, then work harder still, and eventually we’ll achieve our goals. But positive psychologists have shown that this simply isn’t true.
In his book, The Happiness Advantage, Harvard professor and positive psychologist Shawn Achor explains why the traditional approach to work is ‘broken’:
‘If success causes happiness, then every employee who gets a promotion, every student who receives an acceptance letter, everyone who has ever accomplished a goal of any kind should be happy. But with each victory, our goalposts of success keep getting pushed further and further out, so that happiness gets pushed over the horizon.’
Achor further explains that performing Random Acts of Kindness is central to improving happiness. He devised a 21-day challenge, encouraging participants to complete five simple acts each day to increase happiness levels. These acts include:
1/ Noting three things that you’re grateful for
2/ Performing a random act of kindness
3/ Meditating
4/ Exercising for 10 minutes
5/ Spending a few minutes writing about a positive experience that’s occurred within the last 24 hours
For more information, take a look at Shawn Achor’s Ted Talk here.
Starting with Kindness
Improving your happiness levels could be as simple as starting with a kind act. It’s Random Acts of Kindness Day this Monday (17th February), so why not participate with some kindness of your own?
If you’re looking for inspiration, we’ve compiled a free, downloadable guide to help you get started – both at work, and outside of the office. Download your guide here and start spreading some kindness today!
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