Nice means being polite, showing regard for others, and being pleasant and good-natured. It also means being willing to help or be supportive in a helpful way. Being nice is often seen as a virtue, a way to make friends and build up people in your life. Niceness can have positive effects on your mental and physical health. It’s no wonder that parents and teachers encourage children to be nice to their siblings, classmates, and strangers on the street.

While being nice has many benefits, it can be dangerous if it isn’t grounded in a deeper level of kindness and benevolence. Nice people can become sycophantic, always giving in to the demands of those around them. They feel like they have a half-empty cup that they’re constantly trying to fill up, so they won’t say no to anyone in order to do this.

In this way, nice can become a mask that hides an unhealthy desire for power and control over others. It can create a culture of faux civility that is nothing more than a façade of politeness covering a deeper fear of rejection and humiliation. When you’re a nice person, it can be easy to get sucked into this culture of civility and conformity where everything is nice, but no one is truly happy.

Being nice means showing respect to everyone, including people you don’t know very well. It’s a way to show the world that you’re a decent human being. Being nice can be good for your mood, as it can help you stay optimistic and have a more positive outlook on life. It can also make other people feel good about you, as they’re likely to respond positively to your actions.

A person who is a nice person will go out of their way to be kind and helpful. They may be the first person to offer assistance to someone who is struggling, or they may go out of their way to make sure everyone is comfortable at a party. They’ll even help the homeless person who is begging on the street for spare change.

The problem is that being a nice person can become an end in itself. If your only goal is to please everyone else, then you will never stand up for yourself or say no to something that goes against your values. For example, if your friends are urging you to have a cigarette, but you’re not a smoker, you will probably join them just so you can fit in with the group. A good person will speak up and let the group know that this behavior is unacceptable.

The key to being a good and healthy person is knowing your values and sticking to them. If you’re not sure what your values are, check out this video from The School of Life. It explains 10 characteristics that define a good and healthy person. Are you a nice person? What do you think of these traits?