How to Become Benevolent?

Benevolence is an exotic word that simply means something pretty simple. It means having good intentions towards others and oneself.

Benevolence can get expressed with specific emotions. Some of the feelings which can get used to display benevolence are love, generosity, and kindness. Other emotions that could get used to showing charity are friendliness, warmth, fairness, altruism, decency, and compassion.

Someone benevolent leans towards other people. Being kindness does not mean to be indifferent, passive, or neutral to the welfare of other people. Benevolence is contrary to prejudice, aggression, cruelty, ill will, and coldness.

Everyone has undergone the feeling of being benevolent. We are all aware of the sense of wishing the best for people.

Benevolence is a widely praised virtue in life, and therefore, people must imbibe this lifestyle. People like the benevolent spirit. People from all walks of life widely laud it. Parents tell their kids to be kind to strangers, and religious leaders teach us to love our neighbours and keep the golden rule.

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How we can become benevolent:

1. See It as a Reasonable Thing to Do

To become benevolent, we have to think of it as a normal emotion for all humans. When given a choice, you should choose peace over conflict, kindness instead of cruelty, goodwill instead of hatred, and every other important virtue over other vices.

Humans need and know the good things in life. To become benevolent means, we should choose right over evil at all times. It is a normal part of human behaviour.

2. Make Benevolence Your Daily Routine

To become benevolent, you have to do this daily. When you make it part of your daily lifestyle, the feeling grows and becomes a part of you. To become perfect at being benevolent, you have to practice being benevolent.

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This constant practice means daily extending the feelings of goodwill and kindness to ourselves and other people.

3. Greet Other People Warmly

Benevolence means that you are happy to see other people. This feeling includes getting to greet them warmly at the appropriate time. This benevolent feeling means that you get to enjoy and appreciate the presence of other people.

You should look kindly into their eyes and genuinely stare at them. Sincerely ask about their general welfare and wish them well in whatever they do.

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4. Genuinely Listen to Other People

When you sincerely listen to other people and what you have to do, you are benevolent. Deep listening means being empathetic to their plights and needs; being generous means being a pair of safe ears for other people to talk to and open up about their problems.

You should be around when they share their successes and disappointments. When they tell you about their excellence, you should rejoice with them. And alternatively, when they let you know about their frustrations, empathize with them. 

5. Try to Dialogue with People Rather than Argue with Them

When you try to initiate a conversation with people rather than discuss it with them, you are benevolent towards them. When you know that people are wrong and you are trying to let them know this, you should carefully but respectfully advocate your point of view.

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Whenever you are curious about other things from other people, try to ask questions about this. You should avoid using polarizing languages when trying to get your points over to the next person. Instead, find common ground to foster win-win outcomes.

6. Show Kindness to People All the Time

One of the best ways to become benevolent is to go out of your way to showing kind gestures every day. Mahatma Gandhi (an epitome of benevolence) guides you:

“The easiest kind gestures are more effective than one thousand people gathered together in prayer.” This act of kindness could just be anything. This kind gesture could be a greeting or a smile to a stranger sitting on the street.

It could be giving something to somebody that’s in need. Furthermore, bringing it back home, benevolence could be helping a sibling do their unpleasant chores at home.

7. Know What Benevolence Does to Other People

Sometimes being benevolent means that you should make them feel the way you feel when someone does something generous to you. You should know that ecstatic feeling you get when someone does something to be benevolent to you.

You should reverse the compliment and do something generous to someone and make them feel this ecstatic rush. In the case of the other person, your benevolence might be the only thing they need to keep them alive throughout the day.

Some people need benevolent acts more than other people. While it could mean a simple act of kindness to some people, for some other people, it could be a lifesaver. Therefore, next time you feel the need to become benevolent towards somebody, especially older people, just remember that you might be giving them a lifeline.

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8. Cultivate a Habit of Gratitude

Being benevolent means that you have to learn how to be grateful for the people in your life. This habit of gratitude can get cultivated by appreciating the people you have in your life. From family and friends to your co-workers, you should be grateful for having them in your life.

You should focus on the positive things that they bring to your life and meditate on this. Sometimes it is easier to do this when you stop and consider all the ways these people become instrumental.

9. Be Mindful of your Attitude

Being benevolent means that you have to be conscious of your attitude towards people all the time. To become great at this, you have to practice mindful habits. Meditation, exercise, and yoga are some of the activities that eliminate stress and promote mental well-being.

These activities help you ride out negative energy and invite the needed positive energy to maintain your benevolence towards people. Being mindful of your attitude is the ability to control your mood not to offend people unnecessarily.

Conclusion

This set of tips is all there is to be benevolent. In a nutshell, it represents the general act of being kind and thoughtful towards other people.