Engage in warm-heartedness, altruism, and compassion as the ultimate source of happiness, inner peace, inner strength, and physical health. This practice decreases inflammation and the severity of chronic illnesses.
Practice simple mindfulness and compassion meditation to become aware of anger, understand its causes, and change your relationship to it. This helps create distance from the emotion, allowing it to dissipate more easily.
Start by practicing compassion with slightly annoying people, then gradually approach more problematic individuals. Reflect on their feelings, take their perspective, appreciate that their actions may not be intentionally hurtful, and recognize their universal wish to be happy.
Understand that thinking in a more compassionate way towards others is the best way to fulfill your own interests. Helping others sincerely leads to maximum benefit for yourself, including increased happiness.
Begin engaging in altruistic behaviors even if your initial motivation is selfish. Over time, through ‘functional autonomy,’ this behavior can transform into intrinsic motivation, as humans are innately kind.
Remember that altruism does not mean completely forgetting your own interests; it is necessary to look out for your own well-being while also focusing on others.
Acknowledge and celebrate your awareness of selfish tendencies, as this self-awareness is a necessary condition for change. Recognize these are often culturally acquired and require consistent practice to uproot.
Commit to focusing on the welfare of others, even in the last moments of life, as exemplified by the Dalai Lama’s practice of meditating on altruism at the time of his death.
Sign up for the free ‘Dalai Lama’s Guide to Happiness’ meditation challenge on the 10% Happier app, starting January 9th, to receive daily videos and guided meditations to integrate these lessons.