Centre for Health Promotion Research (CHPR)

Some people would answer ‘no’ but I hope that ‘doing good’ does become a social movement.

The concept of doing good is not new. In Ancient Greece, Aesop said “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Nor is the idea passé. With the internet and increasing use of social media, people are now able to more easily and widely share their experiences and inspire others to do good as well. People are getting tired of hearing bad news.

In the U.K., Action for Happiness is “a movement of people committed to building a happier society. We want to see a fundamentally different way of life where people care less about what they can get for themselves and more about the happiness of others.” Their comprehensive website blends science and humanity to encourage people to create a happier society for all. Doing things for others is identified as one of 10 keys to happier living.

Yesterday, I learned that our local paper the Vancouver Sun is asking people to let them know about ‘positive stories’ online that they could feature.

This morning, I saw an ad on the side of the bus for People for Good.ca. I was delighted to learn that things were happening here in Canada too. The goal of People for Good is “to make the world a better place, one good deed at a time.” Their website features videos of five Canadians who documented their experiences with doing one good deed per day for seven days, as well as an area where you can submit your own ideas for doing good.

These three examples are only the tip of the iceberg. People do good all the time, sometimes in a systematic or planned manner and sometimes not.

From a population and public health perspective, doing good can help build a sense of community and social capital. At a personal level, while it’s nice to get warm fuzzy feelings by reading about what other people have done, it’s much better do some good yourself and be part of a social movement.

There’s always room in this world for more good.

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