5 Reasons You Should Learn the Paths of Chumliness

In today's society we are constantly inundated with stories of violence, anger, and hatred. Kindness appears to be a missing personality trait.

Acts of kindness seldom make the trending social media feeds, because they don't generate drama or clicks. But kindness, friendliness and hope are out there.

It’s not always easy in our fast-paced, high-pressure lives to forgive the person who jumps in line ahead of us or to offer a helping hand to a friend. It's even rare these days, when we all have our heads pointed down looking at our smartphones, to simply smile at a stranger on the subway.

But kindness exists. We call it the Paths of Chumliness. You walk these paths to achieve a level of well-being that escalates the more you spread it around and the further you make it down the path.

There are at least 5 great reasons why it might be in our own best interests to slow down, walk the Paths of Chumliness and show a little kindness. 

Those reasons are:

When we hear a story of positivity our first reaction is usually “Faith in humanity: restored.” Our cynicism hasn't won out completely. We do still share the good news from time to time when we see things like a family over-tipping their waitress or donating their Christmas presents to a homeless shelter. But we truly are inundated with negative stories on the news and on our Facebook feeds. Everything we see these days is soaked in anger and violence and negativity. So when we hear of such examples of positivity and kindness it helps remind us that not everyone out there is awful. These people are the ones who keep the rest of us going, even on our toughest days. This is hope. It restores the light that shines in ourselves and in others. Being a part of that hope builds kindness and restores hope for others. Walking the Paths of Chumliness creates hope.

Doing something good, or kind is uplifting. A selfless act, no matter how big or how small, improves the life of the target of that act. Kind people aren't thinking of themselves when they are kind. They are rewarded by seeing joy in other people’s lives. The rush one gets from the act of friendship and positivity is powerful and stirs both the person being kind and the recipient of the kindness on down the Path of Chumliness .

Kind people lift others up in multiple ways. Fits, they help people who have fallen on hard times, or have found themselves in bad situations. In a world in which so many of us tend to focus on money or some other usable prize, kind actions transcend. They have a profound impact on the life of someone in need. Kindness also lifts up everyone else through inspiration. Kind people show others who get inspired by the efforts of kindness. Kind actions reach much farther than the instant in which they are performed.

Being kind sets off a chain reaction. Here's a hypothetical: A boy helps a man pick up his papers after a gust of wind caused them to fly all over the sidewalk; later, the man stops and fixes a flat tire for a woman stranded on the side of the road; then finally, that woman later sees a homeless man begging for change and takes him a sandwich and cup of coffee. One initial act of kindness caused a ripple effect that spread beyond that moment. All it takes is one person to be the catalyst and set the ball in motion.

You do something nice and kind and you help create the opportunity for others to do the same. The kindness spreads. More and more people walk the same Paths of Chumliness. Eventually you've helped build an entire group that is working to spread kindness. You've built a community that is both stronger and kinder.

It may not seem like this is the case in 2018, but kind people are still people we all look up to. The most obvious role models in our society may seem to be attached to fleeting and shallow attributes. The movie stars, sports heroes and successful rich people may get a lot of the headlines. And there are definitely times that even the kindest of people feel down. But when you dig deeper and ask people who their role models are, their list will always include more personal choices. And those choices tend to be people who follow the Paths of Chumliness in one way or another.

Kind people can seem like superheros, like Superchum himself, since their "smile never quits" no matter how tough their circumstances may be. These chums and heroes inspire us to be the best person we know we can be. And this impact that kind people have sways each person they touch with their kindness in a long lasting way.

It's not usually the goal of kindness, but it's still one of the results. Walking the Paths of Chumliness improves your self-esteem, your mental health, and your physical health.

Practicing compassion with others develops naturally into a practice of compassion with ourselves. When we’re kind to others, we get the opportunity to exercise self-love and forgiveness.

Did you know that the gift of giving produces the same outcome for the brain as the gift of receiving?

Not only that, but you may notice that the joy you received was never dependent on a ‘thank you.’ When we’re thinking about, planning for, and being compassionate, without expectations, we become happier individuals. When we offer compassion to others, we are also offering them a safe space to be who they are. With the opportunity to hear another’s unvarnished story, our capacity for empathy develops. Not only does our empathy bring relief to the person in front of us, it also can make us feel more satisfied with our own life.

When we lead a compassionate life, we feel a greater connection to others. Acts of compassion and kindness are our ways to reconnect. They can help us, and those around us, feel a deeper sense of kinship and belonging. Engaging in acts of kindness produces endorphins—the brain’s natural painkiller — which reduces stress.

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