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Don't get stuck in that kindness rut
...conventional wisdom suggests keeping a daily gratitude journal. But one study revealed that those who had been assigned to do that ended up less happy than those who had to count their blessings only once a week. Lyubomirsky therefore confirmed her hunch that timing is important. So is variety, it turned out: a kindness intervention found that participants told to vary their good deeds ended up happier than those forced into a kindness rut.
Here is more.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on March 26, 2007 at 03:37 PM in Science | Permalink
Comments
Libertarianism GMU style - selfishness all the way.
Posted by: Martin at Mar 26, 2007 3:50:13 PM
I think that part of the increased satisfaction of the varied deeds could also be related to the fact that people generally don't do good deeds when commanded to. I've always imagined that the whole reason it was in fact a "good deed" was because someone wanted to do something nice for someone else. Then again, in this world of politicians and movie stars, everyone seems to have an ulterior motive for good deeds...
Posted by: Mere at Mar 26, 2007 5:39:34 PM
"So is variety, it turned out: a kindness intervention found that participants told to vary their good deeds ended up happier than those forced into a kindness rut."
Hence the wisdom of the bumper sticker to commit *random* acts of kindness...
Posted by: cllam at Mar 26, 2007 8:36:32 PM
Don't assume selfishness and social well being are mutually exclusive...
Posted by: stanfo at Mar 26, 2007 11:49:31 PM
Making a point to conduct acts of kindness can certainly put a person in a rut. Happiness requires a balance, and proactively searching out "good deeds" would be akin to someone on a crash diet.
However, often times - I would say most often – the kindest thing a person can do on a normal, routine basis is to just say the right thing (or even say nothing at all).
Compliment a co-worker’s new blonde highlights without being flirtatious (flirting is a different subject entirely). Ask someone about themselves beyond how are you doing. Resist talking about yourself.
I read Joseph Telushkin’s “Words That Hurt, Words That Heal” and it made a huge difference in how I interact with people.
Posted by: Ray G at Mar 27, 2007 12:04:53 AM
Read the first comment; some of you have no idea when I am joking.
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Mar 27, 2007 8:04:22 AM
Lyubomirsky began studying happiness as a graduate student in 1989 after an intriguing conversation with her adviser, Stanford University psychologist Lee D. Ross, who told her about a remarkably happy friend who had lost both parents to the Holocaust. Ross explains it this way: "For this person, the meaning of the Holocaust was that it was indecent or inappropriate to be unhappy about trivial things--and that one should strive to find joy in life and human relationships." Psychologists have long known that different people can see and think about the same events in different ways, but they had done little research on how these interpretations affect well-being.
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