Is being kind good for you? - 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English

from BBC Learning English.

I'm Sam.

And I'm Neil. In this programme,

we're discussing something we've

heard a lot about during the

pandemic - kindness. When was the

last time you did something kind

for someone else, Sam?

Hmmm, I gave my mum

flowers last week.

Ah, that was kind.

And how did it feel?

It felt good knowing

I'd made her happy.

Right! It's something that

psychologists are starting to

prove scientifically but that

most of us knew all along:

we feel just as good being

kind to someone else as when

someone is kind to us.

It reminds me of something

called a random act of kindness.

Have you heard of that, Neil?

Yes, things like helping a

stranger cross the road - small,

everyday things people do to

help others for no other reason

than to make them happy.

Yes, and one of the main

benefits of being kind is

that we feel the kindness in

ourselves. It's called 'the gift

that keeps on giving' - and it

reminds me of my quiz question.

In 2021, a global survey conducted

for the BBC's 'Kindness Test'

asked people to name their top

five random acts of kindness.

So which kind act came top?

Was it:

a) giving someone a smile?

b) giving someone a hug? or

c) giving someone your time

to just listen?

They all sound wonderful but

what I'd really like is a

nice big hug!

OK, Neil, we'll find out later

if that's the right answer.

Now, that good feeling Sam

got from giving her mum

flowers is something

psychologists have become

very interested in. During

the past decade over a

thousand academic papers

were written including

the term 'kindness'.

The author of one such

paper is Dr Dan

Campbell-Meiklejohn, senior

psychologist at the

University of Sussex, and

researcher for the

BBC's Kindness Test.

Here is Dr Campbell-Meiklejohn

discussing his findings with

BBC World Service programme,

Health Check.

What we know from the science

is, and what can seem

counter-intuitive because

giving can cost something of

ourselves, is that we can

experience a sense of reward

when we are kind to others...

so like, when we eat a yummy

food or have a pleasant surprise,

the parts of our brain that help

us remember these nice

experiences and motivated us to

do them again and again - they

become active when we're kind.

And we call this feeling

a warm glow.

Usually giving something away,

money for example, means we

no longer possess it. But

kindness is different: both

the giver of kindness and

the receiver experience what

Dr Campbell-Meiklejohn calls

a warm glow - an inner

feeling of happiness.

Nevertheless, for some people

giving something away equals

losing it, so for them being

kind seems counter-intuitive -

opposite to the way you expect

things should happen.

But on a chemical level the

brain doesn't agree! For

our brain, being kind feels

as good as any other

pleasurable activity, for

example eating something

yummy - something delicious

which tastes good.

OK, Sam, I can see that

being kind is great in my

personal life. But what about

the ruthless world of

business or politics - surely

there's no place for

kindness there?

It's true that in many countries

politics involves fierce debate

and criticism of anyone who

disagrees with you. But there

are those who believe it

doesn't have to be like that.

Jennifer Nagel for one. She's

co-director of a movement

called Compassion in Politics

and author of the book, We,

written with the actor

Gillian Anderson.

Listen as Jennifer explains

her vision to BBC World Service

programme, Health Check.

Compassionate leadership leads

to inclusive, cooperative

outcomes which lead to fairer

societies, lower crime rates,

higher levels of health and

wellbeing. And yet we have

this idea that compassion

somehow doesn't belong, that

it can be dismissed in the

same way as women have been

dismissed as something fluffy

and a nice idea but not

really practical. But in fact,

the science behind compassion

is that it actually takes

courage to act with compassion.

Jennifer wants politics to

be based on compassion - a

strong feeling of empathy

with the suffering of others

and a wish to help them.

She says kindness is sometimes

dismissed as fluffy - soft

and woolly, something not

considered serious or

important. But in fact,

being compassionate is not

easy and takes courage.

Jennifer's is a strong

voice for a kinder, more

compassionate society.

But I bet even she could

use a random act of kindness

now and again... maybe a hug?

Ah that's right, Neil, a hug

was one of the top five

random acts of kindness I

asked about in my quiz

question, along with

smiling and listening.

But which came out on top?

I said it was b) giving

someone a hug.

So, was I right?

Giving a hug was... the

wrong answer, I'm afraid.

The number one random act

of kindness was a) giving

a smile. But don't worry,

Neil - I have a big hug

waiting for you here!

Ah, thanks, Sam, that's so

kind! OK, let's recap the

vocabulary from this

discussion about random

acts of kindness - small

things people do to be

kind to others.

Something counter-intuitive

doesn't happen in the

way you expect it to.

Yummy means delicious

or tasting very good.

A warm glow describes the

pleasant inner feeling of

happiness at doing

something kind.

Compassion is a feeling of

sympathy for the suffering

of others and a wish

to help them.

And finally, something

fluffy is soft and woolly,

not considered serious

or important.

Our six minutes are up,

but if you've enjoyed this

programme, why not go out

and perform your own random

act of kindness.

Goodbye for now!

Bye!