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This is the title of a Wall Street Journal opinion piece written by Arthur C. Brooks. He says that while it may appear that the world today belongs to jerks, “…the best available research still clearly shows that in everyday life the nice people, not the creeps, do the best at work, in love and in happiness.” For disbelieving readers, he offers them this challenge: “Deliberately set out to be nice for a week and see how it makes you feel. I’m confident you’ll like the result.” Mr. Brooks said his father was always having cheerful interactions with total strangers like supermarket clerks, bellmen, bus drivers and so forth. When his father died, hundreds of people showed up at his funeral and everyone he spoke to said pretty much the same thing: “He was a truly nice man.” Mr. Brooks concluded that this was a pretty good legacy, so he set out to imitate his father by having his own cheerful interactions with total strangers. In his words, “It has made me a happier person.” Doing so can make you a happier person as well.

References:

• RossReck.com

The Harvard Study of Human Development has followed the lives of two generations of individuals from the same families for more than 80 years. The conclusions from this study have been published in a book titled, The Good Life by Robert Waldinger, MD and Marc Schultz PhD. The authors point out in the first chapter that if they had to boil the Harvard Study down to a single point it would be: “Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.” They go on to say, “So if you’re going to make that one choice, that single decision that could best ensure your own health and happiness, science tells us that your choice should be to cultivate warm relationships. Of all kinds.” There you have it. It doesn’t get any more straightforward than that. The authors further point out that it’s never too late to start. As they put it, “The good life is in front of you sometimes only an arm’s length away and it starts now.”

References:

• RossReck.com

If you want to make your world a brighter, happier place, all you need to do are two things: 1) smile and 2) get to know the people you meet on a regular basis—the people who work at the grocery store, the bank, the post office, the restaurants you frequent, and so forth. You do this by showing a genuine interest in them—asking them questions and learning what’s going on in their lives. If you do this on a consistent basis, you’ll soon notice that these people smile when they see you coming their way, they cheerfully greet you, they learn your name, and treat you like you’re someone special. Let me tell you from personal experience, this will brighten your day and make you feel great. This is so much better than the indifference you’ll experience if you don’t smile, and you say nothing. The lesson here is that your world is what you make it.

References:

RossReck.com