At Home: Ring, Ring

Classified ad site Kijiji can help you find what You’re looking for?even if It’s simply the chance to do good.

As the Toronto Sun reports, a London, Ontario woman noticed a National Orange Bowl Florida State championship football ring posted for sale.

The idea of selling such a precious keepsake intrigued the woman and encouraged her to investigate further. Examining the ring’s photo, she discovered an engraving, did her research, and ?learned the ring belonged to Jeff Womble,? who played for Florida State University between 1999 and 2003. This past November, the Atlanta-based athlete had reported the ring stolen.

She contacted Womble, who instructed her to get in touch with the police. The Good Samaritan, who wouldn’t identify herself to reporters, had been willing to buy the ring and send it to its rightful owner, but police were able to recover it.

Around the World: Good Deeds

Good intentions get a bad rap, but maybe not for long. New research is suggesting that good intentions have the power to increase pleasure in the recipient?no matter how small, insignificant, or otherwise meaningless the action.

As Psych Central reports, ?good intentions can soothe pain, increase pleasure, and even make cookies and candies taste sweeter.? In fact, as researcher and University of Maryland Assistant Professor Kurt Gray told reporters, ?[the] way we read another person’s intentions changes our physical experience of the world.?

The study found that when subjects ?received identical electric shocks at the hand of a partner,? they experienced ?significantly less pain? when they thought the shocker’s intentions were good (to help them win money) as opposed to malicious or careless.

The study has ?clear applications in the real world,? including pain management. In the everyday, we’re encouraged to double the effect of good deeds by letting the recipient know we’re motivated by caring.

Additionally, researchers urge us to enhance our own experience by thinking the best of people, even when we’re unhappy about their actions. As Gray told reporters, ?Stolen parking places cut less deep . . . when we think well of others.?