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.”
he 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.
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.
It’s truly amazing how many people resent even the smallest of changes. You hear them whining around and saying things like: “I just got settled into a comfortable routine and then this change came along and ruined it. I wish things would just stay as they are.”
During the course of pursuing your dream, sooner or later, the going will get a little tough. When this occurs, it’s very tempting to think something like, “This is way too difficult; maybe I should just give up.” What most people don’t appreciate is that any dream worth pursuing is going to have some tough stretches along the way.
Mark Twain had this to say about travel: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
One of the best ways to make your life more enjoyable is to make it easy for people to be kind to you. And the easiest way to do this is to be kind and positive. People absolutely love to be kind to positive people because it’s pleasant and fun. When you approach them, they greet you with a smile and say something like, “Hi! It’s good to see you! How have you been?
Many people view their comfort zone as a wonderful and cozy place where life is easy, familiar, and totally risk-free. While this may sound like an ideal environment, it’s impossible to grow as a person if you stay inside your comfort zone because there are no opportunities to try new things, make mistakes, experience failure, and learn from those experiences.
Far too many people worry about what other people think of them. Instead of living their life on their own terms doing things that bring them joy and happiness, their primary motivation is to impress others.
An article by Chelsea Bailey, which was posted on bbc.com, featured Hody Childress, a life-long resident of the small rural community of Geraldine, Alabama. Mr. Childress was known as a humble man, “who would often send handwritten get-well cards and share vegetables from his garden with neighbors.”