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As it turns out, the answer is yes \u2013 but with a catch. Rushing around really does make us less pleasant people in everyday life. But there is a tool that can allow us to keep calm and be kind: mindfulness<\/a>.<\/p>\n What does it really mean to be nice?<\/p>\n The study wasn\u2019t about helping people move furniture or volunteering at a shelter. It looked at something much smaller \u2013 and more common.<\/p>\n Being nice, in this case, means being warm and friendly<\/a> to improve someone else\u2019s mood. Think of smiling at a cashier, thanking someone sincerely, or saying hi to a coworker just to brighten their day. It\u2019s not the same as being polite. <\/p>\n Politeness often follows social rules. Niceness is more personal \u2013 it\u2019s about caring how someone feels. We run into these moments dozens of times a day. Unlike big acts of kindness<\/a>, they don\u2019t cost us anything. But they matter.<\/p>\n The research behind the rush<\/p>\n Psychologist Olga Bia\u0142obrzeska and doctoral candidate Dawid \u017buk at SWPS University<\/a> wanted to know how time pressure affects these everyday interactions.<\/p>\n The team ran four studies with 722 participants. The first study looked at what people believe: Are folks less nice when they\u2019re in a hurry? Most said yes.<\/p>\n But beliefs don\u2019t always match reality. So the researchers conducted more studies to test what really happens when people are rushing.<\/p>\n Testing kindness while rushing<\/p>\n In one of the studies, participants were asked to recall moments in their lives when they were in a hurry. Another group thought about relaxing moments. <\/p>\n Both groups faced the same situation: they had to say \u201cno\u201d to a friend\u2019s uncomfortable request. The rushed group admitted their refusals were less kind and more blunt.<\/p>\n In another experiment, participants had to do a task on a computer \u2013 some under time pressure, others with no rush. During the task, they were interrupted by a stranger. Once again, the people under pressure were less nice, and even the stranger noticed the difference.<\/p>\n Finally, in the last study, participants described how rushed they\u2019d felt recently and how nice they\u2019d been to others. This time, the researchers added something new: a mindfulness test.<\/p>\n Mindfulness can break the pattern<\/p>\n Mindfulness means paying attention<\/a> to what\u2019s happening around you and how you feel in the moment. It\u2019s simply noticing. And here\u2019s where things got interesting during the last trial. <\/p>\n People who scored high on mindfulness didn\u2019t show the same link between hurrying and being less nice. They were able to stay kind, even when life sped up.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean mindfulness erases stress<\/a>. But it seems to protect our ability to be decent humans, even when we\u2019re late or overwhelmed.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryday niceness \u2013 small, friendly gestures \u2013 is crucial for our well-being and interpersonal relationships. Our research shows that people are less nice when they are in a hurry than when they have time and feel relaxed,\u201d said Bia\u0142obrzeska.<\/p>\n \u201cIn today\u2019s fast-paced lives, where people are often in a hurry, this result is especially important. Our research also points to mindfulness as a possible way to maintain niceness, even under pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n Kindness during the real life rush<\/p>\n Bia\u0142obrzeska noted that, just as the \u201cslow food\u201d movement has changed our approach to eating, it is time to rethink the way we live. <\/p>\n \u201cPromoting a slower lifestyle \u2013 be it in schools, workplaces, or through social campaigns \u2013 offers the opportunity for more niceness, better relationships, and improved well-being<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n We won\u2019t always have time. But we can still choose to notice. We can slow down just enough to look someone in the eye. Say thank you like we mean it. Treat people like they matter \u2013 because they do.<\/p>\n The full study was published in the journal Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Check us out on EarthSnap<\/a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls<\/a> and Earth.com.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A morning rush can create a day-long tone. You skip breakfast and dash out the door. Someone holds…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51497,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[242,85,46,141],"class_list":["post-51496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}