I think at the root level that humans are kind and are meant to be together and to be in communion and that there are innate feelings to want to love and be loved and to be seen and to see.
Doing good feels good.
Feeling good feels good.
But those simple truths get so buried by so many things like everyday decisions and choices.
because you can really get broken into the patterns and it's hard sometimes to be creative and reinvent everyday life,
you know, everyday drama.
But I think there's some universal, you know, things that do make us laugh and do bring us joy.
Like, whether it's with friends or strangers, like, there's love and seeing someone light up.
And so then the question is, how do we live a life of kindness?
You know, there's such joy in that discovery.
Welcome to the Science of Happiness.
I'm Dacher Kiltner.
Our guest this week is Dana Merwin,
a clown and improv performer in the Bay Area who knows what it takes to work and play with others.
For one week, Dana made sure to perform three nice things each day for other people.
Lots of studies show that doing good deeds for other people isn't just a good thing to do,
but it also has psychological and health benefits.
It can boost self-confidence and deepen a sense of meaning as well as helping people feel socially connected.
We'll hear about her experience and also from David Craig.
He's a psychologist who has studied the science of kindness and has used it to guide his own work with veterans who suffer from really difficult mental health challenges.