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Hi, I’m Carin Rockind. Welcome to PPND Bites, where we give you 60-second helpings of the Positive Psychology News you need to know. It’s often asked, “I’m just one person. Is there anything I can do?” The answer is yes. Jonathan Haidt, positive psychologist at Yale has a great TED talk where he talks about the superorganism, that certainly when there is an individual who as Adam Grant calls a taker, someone who is greedy, who is selfish, is compared or up against somebody who is nice, who is kind, who is cooperative, then the greedy person might win. When we come together and we form what’s called a superorganism, we actually can make anything happen.
See, humans are social creatures. We’re social animals. We evolve to be in a tribe and do our part toward the greater good. It’s why research from 2005 shows us that altruism makes us happier. We have this amazing opportunity to band together as a superorganism as Jonathan Haidt calls it. Then we can create anything that we want to in the world. With that, we hope that this helps you to live a healthier, happier, and more altruistic, beautiful life. Take care, and have a beautiful day. Bye for now.
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References
Post, S. 2005. Altruism, happiness, and health: It’s good to be good. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 12(2), 66-67.