What are the benefits of being kind?

I think I am a basically kind person (with notable exceptions here and there). But I don't spend a lot of time patting myself on the back for being kind. For me, the principal non-abstract benefit of being personally kind is the enjoyable lack of self-reproach that follows on. Because when I am personally unkind, I always feel bad about it afterwards (more or less bad depending upon the circumstances). These bad feelings do not extend to more abstract instances of unkindness, such as "saying nasty things about George W. Bush." I rather enjoy those, and make no apology for them.

Being kind makes the world a better place. Contrary to what other people say, being kind DOES encourage others to be kind too.  Naturally if everyone is perfectly selfish and you are the only kind person, you'll just be taken advantage of.  But the world isn't like that.  Enough people ARE kind for even selfish people to notice the warmth these kind people receive.  Kindness elicits gratitude and happiness. We are emotive creatures.  We have the capacity to feel what other people feel.  Otherwise the TV and movie industry would have flopped long ago.  So when you are kind to someone, they react positively, and OTHER people notice.  And they want that reaction too.  Watching the reactions that kind people get encourages even the selfish to be kind.  We all want to receive the warmth and gratitude that comes with kindness. We all want to be liked.

According to Plato, there are only 3 types of goods in the world. 1. Goods that are intrinsically valuable. They are good on their own. 2. Goods that are instrumentally valuable. They are only good for what their results. 3. Goods that are both. Kindness is the third type. It just makes you feel better on its own, but it also makes the people you interact with feel better.

As long as your kindness is genuine and without ulterior motives/or fulfilling some kind of personal agenda, the benefits are many, especially in terms of creating a network or community that will keep you out of isolation, one of the banes of human existence. You get out of your own head and personal circumstances and practice virtues such as understanding, compassion, empathy, and learn that these things will be returned to you from others. This creates a flow of life sustaining energy and friendships. I know this because I've experienced it. I'm pretty introverted, but when I reach out beyond myself and give time and experience to others who have expressed some need where I could be of assistance to them, I realize that I feel better about myself. It isn't a "I am doing something for you, so you have to do something for me" situation or even an ego boost. Whenever I emerge from my shell of introversion, I realize that being kind is like paying forward, and the benefits, although unknown at the time, always come back in very unexpected ways.  And that is very exciting to me!

For me, it's about creating the world I want to live in. I want a world that values kindness and mercy, that embraces diversity, that asks questions when it doesn't understand, instead of hiding in fear. I can't change the world in any great way. I'm one person, living in a mid-sized city in North America. I can't fix war, famine, disease, child poverty or tragedy. I can be kind. I can smile at people. Stop to help. Wave at children, pause to pet dogs, be polite, wait my turn, tip well, hold doors open and say please and thank you. On a good day, this might be a positive interaction for 30 people. Maybe. If they notice. Like I said above, I'm never going to change much. It doesn't cost anything. It doesn't hurt. It takes perhaps an additional 10 minutes a day to be actively kind. If we all did that each day? Wouldn't that be amazing.

There is no benefit of being kind. Being kind doesn't ensure, that the other person will be nice (or kind) to you back, or warrant that they should be. There is nothing to be gained by being kind, as being helpful and pleasant to others, doesn't give you anything back most of the time. You shouldn't do kind things because of you want something in return, you should do them because they are the right thing to do. With that said, the only benefits for being kind, is the selfless benefit for other people. Being kind only benefits others. It is up to you, to decide whether you want to be kind or not. Nobody is going to force you to make a choice. Personally, my benefit of being kind, is that I can walk away happy knowing I've made the world a better place.