Searching for happiness? The answer may lie in the way you treat the planet!
#1: Being Kind To People + Planet = Happiness!
In our individualistic, career-driven and goal-oriented society, we’re often told to focus on ourselves and not worry about others. Striving for happiness typically means achieving linear goals — get a degree, move up the ladder in your career, buy a house, get married, have children — the list goes on.
Instead, a growing body of research is telling us that the key to happiness is performing acts of kindness for others, or for the world! The link between “prosocial” behaviour and wellbeing was explored by Nelson-Koffey, Layous and Lyubomirsky in a study of 473 people over 6 weeks.
The researchers found that two types of prosocial behaviours — acts of kindness for others, and acts of kindness for the world — led to greater increases in psychological flourishing as opposed to self-focused and neutral behaviour.
Image: Canva
#2: Taking Care Of The Planet = Taking Care Of Yourself
Do you try to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle? We know this looks different for everyone, but some common eco-friendly behaviours are recycling, walking/biking when possible, avoiding single-use plastics, taking shorter showers and being energy-conscious. Good news — these things could be contributing to your overall life satisfaction!
A study by Southern Cross University in Australia found that nearly 77% of eco-friendly consumers were satisfied with their life, compared to 54.8% of consumers who weren’t eco-friendly. Plus, people who live eco-friendly lifestyles were more likely to have a positive outlook on life. Of the 913 people surveyed, 93% indicated a general concern for the environment and a massive 77% wanted to learn more about how to live an eco-friendly life!
#3: Sustainable Purchases = Greater Life Satisfaction
Money can’t buy happiness, right? Well, it depends on what you’re spending money on! A 2010 study by Jing Jian Xiao and Haifeng Li discovered that happiness may be associated with environment-friendly purchases or “green” purchases.
Data collected from across 14 cities in China, revealed that consumers who reported an intention to purchase eco-friendly products — or consumers that showed eco-friendly behaviours — had higher scores in life satisfaction compared to other consumers. Pretty amazing, right?
It comes back to the idea that doing good makes you feel good — whether it’s helping, sharing, donating, co-operating, or volunteering for others. That’s where beneficial purchases, are associated with “prosocial” behaviour.
Image: Canva
#4: Eco-Friendly Living = Better Self-Image
As it turns out, living an eco-friendly life can greatly improve our self-image and the way we perceive ourselves! This is inherently different to chasing happiness. A healthy self-image promotes confidence, assertiveness, resilience, and better relationships.
Martin Binder and Ann-Kathrin Blankenberg found that eco-friendly behaviour and sustainable purchases increase life satisfaction overall. But, interestingly, they discovered that much of the “boost” in life satisfaction came from the respondents’ perceived self-image, rather than the eco-friendly behaviours themselves. Basically, people who performed eco-friendly behaviours felt better about themselves for doing so. The study found that having an eco-friendly self-image, increases 'green behaviours' and will actually shift your thinking and your perception of yourself — for the better!
Kindness is literally the core value at Flora & Fauna — whether it’s to the planet, people or animals. We truly believe that eco-friendly behaviours stem from a desire to be kind. Every time we make a sustainable swap, remember our reusables when we go out, or opt to walk instead of drive, we’re doing so out of kindness to our planet!
Check out the pages below to see how Flora & Fauna helps the planet, people and animals!
Flora & Fauna | Our Purpose & Values
Flora & Fauna | We Are A Certified B Corp
