ABOVE ALL, be kind

When people are kind, it can make us feel good. Sometimes it can be a small gesture, such as an exchanged smile between strangers, or something bigger like doing a favour for a neighbour. Knowing we’ve lightened someone’s burden lightens our own burden too. Kindnessisreciprocal. If we are kind, we improve other people’s lives, and we, in return, reap the benefits.

According to clinical psychologist Joe Oliver, being kind to other people is beneficial to our own wellbeing, mental health and relationships. “As these flourish, other benefits for creativity and broader physical and mental healthmanifest,” he says.

It sounds simple, but it can also be one of the hardest things. Despite our best intentions, a study led by Jonathan Freeman, psychology professor at Goldsmiths, suggests we’re not always as kind as we think we are. In this current age of political divisiveness, and with the anonymity that comes from being behind a