Be Nice!

One of the first lessons our mothers and our teachers always taught us was to "Be Nice!"  Being nice to others seems an obvious way to connect and build relationships.  It also appears to be common sense that the one whom we're being nice to will benefit from our kindness.  A recent study in the Journal of Happiness Studies may give us even more incentive to "be nice".  Participants who were assigned to the study group directed to enact a "compassionate" behavior over the course of one week showed significant sustained increases in self esteem and happiness, over the control group.  These changes were still apparent after six months.  The participants who acted compassionately towards another also had the unexpected benefit of a decrease in negative feelings of anxiety and depressive symptoms.  It's just more evidence to support what we intuitively know - Being Nice Feels Good!

http://www.springerlink.com/content/n4j2j66193202312/