How Ordinary Acts of Local Civic Kindness Can Improve Your Mood

How Ordinary Acts of Local Civic Kindness Can Improve Your Mood

We‘ve all experienced this moment. You‘re running to get your double shot, thinking about the hundred email that you haven‘t opened yet and how in less than 10 hours you‘ll still be in the office, your ears are ringing and the city is totally oblivious to your presence. And suddenly, a stranger smiles and opens a door for you; or another stranger lets you buy coffee in front of him. Suddenly, the internal static thins out. The day feels a little bit lighter. I want us to think of “civic sense” as something more flexible, more human. Civic sense is being responsible and considerate enough to understand how to be a good community member, whether it‘s sitting on the train or tipping 15%. Not the structure of it; that‘s just “societal duty.” And that‘s not what you see. Civic sense is a lively, living thing. And this however is the best-kept secret of civic kindness: it not only benefits your neighborhood, but it is in fact a biological and psychological superpower for yourself. The Science Behind the “Helper’s High” When you perform a random act of kindness for a stranger say you help someone who has dropped a bag of groceries or you remove a piece of trash from the sidewalk your brain isn’t just viewing it as a job well done. Psychologists have given this chemical release a name: the “Helper‘s High”. Your brain can release a veritable “molecular cocktail” when you do something civic-minded and pro-social: Oxytocin: Known as the “love hormone,” oxytocin relaxes your blood vessel walls, reducing blood pressure, protecting your heart, and boosting feelings of trust and connection to others. Dopamine. This is your brains reward system. When you do something that is good, it causes a spike in dopamine, leaving you with that instant feeling of happiness and hope. Serotonin: This is one of the most important chemicals, controlling your mood and preventing feelings of depression or anxiety. In a world where we spend hundreds of dollars on apps to improve our wellness, gym memberships, and installing self-care routines and still neglect the most powerful, zero-cost mental health hack you can have: be a good neighbor. Micro-Civic Acts: Small Effort, Massive Return You don‘t have to finance a new, local park or campaign for a local office to practice civic kindness. It‘s all about the “micro-acts” the seemingly small, almost effortless decisions we make all daylong which say to others, “I‘m acknowledging you, and we‘re in this together.” Here is a quick look at how common micro-acts of civic sense shift your internal state: The Civic Act The Mental Shift Returning a stray shopping cart= Developing a feeling of stability, feelings of feeling in command of your environment, and unconditional responsibility; Counteracts feeling of chaos. Allowing a car to merge in traffic Disables the aggressive fight-or-flight response and replaces the emotion of frustration with calm control. Greet your local sanitation worker Provides social connection, which is essential when feeling isolated. Keeping the elevator door open. Forces you to stop, step outside yourself, and invoke mindfulness. Breaking the Modern Loneliness Epidemic We live in an age of unparalleled connection, and yet never have we felt so alone. It‘s so easy to pass through our cities and suburbs like phantoms, eyes on screens, treating the people around us as little more than roadblocks. This loneliness breeds anxiety and a pessimistic outlook.Civic kindness becomes the answer to this disconnection.

Every time you practice civic sense telling a person that his backpack is unzipped, or slowing down your dog’s walk on the street to allow a stroller-pushing parent to pass you are shattering the glass wall of isolation you live behind. You reaffirm your membership in the community. These little actions are social doses of Vita-min. They show you that your world is not a hostile desert of strangers but a communal landscape of friends. How to Build Your “Civic Kindness” Routine Like any muscle, civic sense needs to be exercised regularly. If you truly need a lift in your mood throughout the day, try tinging your options with these three notions: 1. Practice Active Looking We can‘t be kind if we are oblivious to our environment. When you are walking down the street, what if you pulled your eyes away from your cell phone? Observe your environment. If there was a stray plastic bottle by a trashcan, would you walk by and ignore it? If someone is lost, would you give them directions? 2. Choose Patience Over Speed Speed is highly rewarded, and it is also what kills civic sense. Next time you are driving in the traffic or queuing in the supermarkets, willfully allow someone else to have the right of way. Those 10 seconds you loose will be more than made up by the rush of serotonin you will feel after having chosen grace over aggression. 3. Leave Spaces Better Than You Found Them Take the time to make it a game. If you’re buffing off the gym bench, filing away a library book or dumping the trail to a food court, respect the public places as if they were your own living room. There is great humility in ownership of a community. The Beautiful Truth The civic sense is not about being a martyr. It is not about putting up the show on social media. It is a quiet “recovery” of our common humanity. When you give that small olive branch of kindness to the world you get this big, beautiful one in return; you feel a little taller, breathe a little easier and feel just that much safer. By caring for others, you‘re caring for you. Then go out and read the sky! Ask yourself: What small act of kindness can I go outside and bestow upon someone today? Your emotions will thank you.

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