Paper Sample on Exploring Compassion: A Personal Reflection and Future Commitment

What is your definition of compassion?

Compassion is a term that is not at all new to our ears. We have heard it over and over again be it from the internet, the church or from celebrities that preach about humanity. My definition of compassion is simply putting myself in someone's shoes and picturing myself in their situation. It is about presenting my genuine self to others and being able to help others out where possible CITATION Has15 \l 1033 (Haslam, 2015). Many people assume that compassion is just random acts of kindness or helping out strangers, forgetting that we should also be compassionate to our family members and above all, be compassionate to ourselves. Being compassionate to ourselves is all about loving and appreciating yourself.

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The recipients of my compassion activities, and what did you do?

On my day of compassion, the exercise was such an excellent experience. It was not far from what I always do every single day, but I went a notch higher and incorporated some extra activities. My recipients ranged from family, strangers, friends and even my pet. I wanted to make the maximum use of the day and make every single minute pass. That is why I did not confine myself to the usual strangers and family. I learnt that being compassionate does not involve doing big things only but also doing small things. They say the small things do matter too. I made sure I went out of my way to make it my day of compassion and also to make it memorable.

On that day, I got involved in many acts of compassion. For example, I motivated several people who were down in spirits, I visited Peace Children’s home and donated food and some of my clothes, I made sure that I used polite words like thank you and sorry and also smiled at people. I learnt later on that smiling at people, strangers included, is a much-underrated act of kindness. It makes someone brighten up forget their issues for a second and appreciate the beauty of life. In the grocery store, I also made a point of helping old and pregnant ladies push their carts to the counter.

If your behaviour was different than normal, which person did you like more? What were other people’s responses? Did they notice a difference, and what attributes did they make?

My behaviour on this particular day was not far from my normal way of life. My friends and family did observe some different changes in my activities. They did comment on it, and all of them were just positive feedback. Some of them congratulated me on my new habit because I had not told them that it was a school experiment. I prefer the compassionate side of me to the normal me because helping out others just made me feel so at peace, and whenever someone smiled because of me, I felt good in my heart. I think some of the reasons that always prevent the compassionate side of me from coming out are; The fear of being manipulated whereby a person might take advantage of the kindness you portray towards them and use it against you CITATION Mar193 \l 1033 (Marcinkowski & Reid, 2019). Secondly, the thought of not having enough money or resources, but now I know that even the smallest acts of kindness make one compassionate.

What are the social and psychological costs and benefits of being compassionate? Do the costs outweigh the benefits?

The social and psychological costs of being compassionate are to be generous and always to be ready to step out of our comfort zone to help those who need our assistance. It requires one to be selfless and be there for other people. One should have sympathy for other people. Being compassionate always requires someone to have boundaries and not to let the excellent side dwell too much, and this is to prevent other people from taking advantage of that. The benefits outweigh the cost because, in the long run, it will help people morally fight addiction, and in most circumstances, it will pull out from depression that would have even led them to suicide. It will make them find meaning in their lives and smile once again CITATION Sci19 \l 1033 (Borealis, 2019). Being compassionate will also lead to the person feeling at peace because in most cases, the person will not be involved in arguments or wrongdoings. When most of the people are compassionate, this will lead to a peaceful society.

How can social psychology be used to foster compassion?

Compassion should be a processor rather than a chain. If I help out someone, then they should be ready to help me again. Psychology makes one understand the benefits of being compassionate; hence this fosters compassion in society.

What are some of the topics, concepts or theories of psychology that are related to the exercise?

Some of the topics of Psychology that relate to the exercise include addictions, depression, disability, pain and money. The theories that relate to the exercise include biological, behavioural and humanistic.

Predict your behaviour one month from now; do you think it will be changed? How? If not, why not?

My behaviour will change in the coming month. I want to be more compassionate and practice what I learnt on this day. I want to live every day as if it is my compassion day.

References

Borealis, S. (2019, April 23). The psychological benefits of self-compassion. Science Borealis, pp. 1-6.

Haslam, D. (2015). “More than kindness”. Journal of Compassionate Health Care, 2(6), 1-3. doi:10.1186/s40639-015-0015-2

Marcinkowski, T., & Reid, A. (2019). Reviews of research on the attitude-behaviour relationship and their implications for future environmental education research. Environmental Education Research, 25(4), 459-471. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2019.1634237