HOT-WIRE YOUR KINDNESS

Give your amygdala an empathy workout with strategies from Dr Abigail Marsh

01\ Meditate Daily “It’s like compassion boot camp,” says Marsh. Begin by visualising loved ones in your innermost circle, then slowly expand to include others. Meaningful changes in your sense of compassion can occur in the first eight weeks.

02\ Read Fiction Encountering different perspectives, even fictional ones, can change the way you think about others. “You can see both experimental and cultural correlations between reading fiction and how people think about strangers,” notes Marsh.

03\ Gaze at the Stars Experiencing the awe of nature promotes pro-social behaviour by fostering a more modest perception of oneself. Further testing on the long-term influence of awe on compassion is still needed but, as Marsh points out, appreciating nature’s beauty is a win-win activity.