Surprise, Surprise

Doing good things for others is an excellent way of boosting oxytocin. Doing good things when you’re not asked to increases it even more.

My younger brother’s family always springs surprises on one another. Surprise birthday parties and surprise trips away are a couple. They do it so often that I wonder if it’s a surprise any more. The person organising the surprise gets a big hit of oxytocin. The person on the receiving end gets one as well.

Doing something kind for another person costs nothing but gives lots. The best thing you can give away is a smile. It makes you happy, and the person you smile at feels better.

Did the kids in my class quit their bullying when I paid for their pinball games? Well, they did for a while. They went back to their old ways. But they were only half-hearted about it.

As the year went on, they seemed to forget how skinny I was and didn’t mention it as much. The best thing was I didn’t have to keep paying for their pinball games.

My good turn could have turned sour if they expected it more often. Worse still, they could have kept calling me names unless I paid.

None of the three ever became besties–we lost touch after we went to high school–and they weren’t friends before the pinball games.

The cool thing was–and this will sound strange–I didn’t feel scared of them any more. Surprise, surprise.