Research carried out by Kurt Gray, Harvard PH.D. student, seems to suggest that people who are doing something they consider to be morally good for others, receive in return a boost to their efficacy, and also feel stronger and suffer less discomfort. He believes that attempting heroic acts gives you more of what is needed to perform heroic acts!

He describes the effect as “moral transformation” on the basis that good deeds are able to transform someone from ordinary to exceptional.

The findings came from the results of two studies. In study number one, volunteers were given a $1 note with the instruction to either donate it or keep it.

Then they were requested to hold a 5lb weight up for as long as possible. The ones who gave their note to charity held the weight up for 10 seconds longer on average.

The second study involved volunteers writing one of three story choices. The choices were: one where they as a character harmed others, one where they did good, and one where they did neither. They also had to hold a weight up at the same time. Those who wrote about helping others were able to hold the weight for longer.

So now you know how super girl got her powers! Go on, be heroic today! Do something wonderful for someone!

The Little Things in Life

It doesn’t need to be a big thing: hold a door open, smile at a stranger, give up your seat, ring someone you know is lonely, make a point of telling someone you like their work, make a small donation to charity.

That last one is called prosocial spending by the way. Previous research has found that money doesn’t necessarily make you happy. Some researchers at the University of British Columbia decided to test this a little further and look at how people actually spent their money; they had an hypothesis that it was how the money was used that was significant.

People not Stuff

They discovered that those who spent at least a third of their money on others felt much happier than those who spent it all on material possesions for themselves. (Although it seems entirely possible that those people helped others, regardless of their income and just continued to do it when they had funds! The money need not be relevant to their happiness levels at all.)

However, the study fits in neatly with a growing body of research that finds that helping others is the best way to help yourself, that people who give more and are more socially connected are happier. Give it a go!