Fix a Bad Mood With a Selfless Act
One morning trip to work is enough to amass a thousand seething grievances. People push, litter, smoke, block the sidewalk, talk to you without a mask. By the time you make it safely home, you could be in full Rorschach-from- Watchmen mode . Instead, fill yourself with the cleansing fire of a good deed.
Now I hate the atmosphere of “random acts of kindness.” I’m not one of those people who celebrate today’s holiday – the Day of Accidental Acts of Kindness – but I appreciate the power of smug feelings of superiority, and one way to capitalize on this is to do your best to be good. Have someone walk in front of you, buy someone a coffee, give a compliment.
Here is an excerpt in which I cite some research, such as a study by the University of Louisville, which says that people who do well feel good , and a British study that found that people get more pleasure from remembering gifts than from memories of buying something for yourself. And enough evidence remains to be found to make it obvious that doing good to others is good for you as well.
If you’re in a bad mood, you might not want to think about it in some subtle, all you need is love. Think of it as earning secret points of complacency. Or fool yourself to stop thinking about the asshole who honked you for no good reason and start thinking about the person you gave your seat to. You are just making yourself feel good by making others feel good.
This story was originally published in November 2017 and updated on February 17, 2021, with new photos added and aligned with Lifehacker’s style guidelines.