July 2021 | AskNelson Newsletter

You may recognise the expression “it is better to give than to receive,” but did you know that research has proven that kindness has many benefits including, increased happiness and a healthy heart? It slows down the ageing process and improves relationships and connections, which indirectly boost your health! Psychologist William James in 1902 already saw the importance of kindness in our lives when he said: “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.”

Each year, we celebrate International Mandela Day on 18 July. The purpose of this day is to show that everyone has the power to transform the world and can make an impact. This can be shown in your acts of kindness, for example, if you live in a neighbourhood with elderly people, you know that they are the most vulnerable in society during this pandemic, so you can offer to do their shopping.

In a recent podcast by Dr Caroline Leaf, she describes kindness as a superhuman tool that we all have and how it can change our brain chemistry. In her podcast, you will hear how the practice of kindness massively impacts our ability to transition from being a reactor to a responder in our lives and if we take the time to be kind to other people, without expecting anything in return we can reap the emotional rewards and it is more likely that you will “pay it forward”. She also spoke about the first step in mind-management and cleaning up our mind-mess is TO BE KIND TO OURSELVES! By being kind to yourself, you will increase your ability to be kind to others!
Liz Gilbert, in her book Eat, Pray, Love encourages this kindness towards oneself when she says: “Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognised yourself as a friend”.