HOW TO Be Kinder

We all have opportunities to build our be-nice muscles.

- by KAITLYN PHOENIX

Take a moment to think about a time when someone helped you out. Maybe a stranger fed your expired parking meter or a person offered to lift your heavy suitcase into the overhead bin. “You never know how a small act of kindness is going to be helpful for someone else,” says Kelli Harding, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and the author of The Rabbit Effect.

“But it’s really important to remember those moments in your own life and pay it forward to other people.” In fact, research shows that doing thoughtful things is fundamental to our health. No one is kind 24/7, but these tips will help you sprinkle more generosity into your daily life—and support your own well-being in the process.

START AT HOME.