“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.”

Nelson Mandela

In a world that feels increasingly divided, where stress, competition and uncertainty dominate and shape our daily lives, workplaces and communities, it’s easy to feel powerless. All of us witness relationships growing strained, misinformation spreading faster than truth and extreme individualism weakening our sense of belonging. Is change still possible or has the world slipped beyond our control?
Perhaps the answer has been in front of us all along.
Compassion.

For centuries compassion was regarded as a moral virtue; a quality of the kind-hearted, admirable but still optional. Things have gradually changed over the years, leading to a global socioeconomic and political norm that glorifies competition and self-reliance, and perhaps views compassion as something nice but unnecessary or even as a weakness in an increasingly individualistic world, where only the fittest survive. Science however tells a different story.

Far from being a liability or something nice but nonessential, science confirms that compassion is one of the most powerful transformative forces that is deeply rooted in our biology and constitutes an evolutionary advantage that has fostered human connection, has strengthened psychological health through dark times and has driven human survival. Much more than a culturally-determined choice, compassion is a biological strength; a fundamental aspect of human nature, shaped by evolution and proven by neuroscience.

Even though many of us may believe that compassion is something that a person either has or doesn’t have, science once more comes to prove that compassion can actually be taught. Numerous studies demonstrate that structured compassion training programs can lead to measurable changes in the brain, reinforcing neural pathways linked to emotional regulation, empathy and prosocial behavior.

In workplaces for example, compassion training has been linked to
• increased productivity
• enhanced innovation and creativity
• higher job satisfaction
• improved team collaboration
• lower stress and burnout

while in educational settings students who are exposed to compassion-based curricula and classrooms develop
• better emotional intelligence
• stronger emotional resilience
• enhanced social-emotional skills
• reduced aggression
• higher academic engagement and motivation
• greater love for learning

• Reduce stress and anxiety & improve the immune system, by lowering cortisol, the body’s stress hormone.
• Increase emotional resilience, making us more capable to successfully deal with adversity.
• Strengthen relationships, fostering trust and social connection.
• Enhance well-being, leading to greater overall life satisfaction and sense of fulfillment.

Perhaps no one can change the world alone, but every big change begins with one single step. A kind word, a helping hand, a moment of understanding—each act of compassion, regardless of how small it may be, sets something bigger in motion. By choosing kindness, we inspire others to do the same, creating ripples that extend far beyond what we can see.

Compassion heals, builds trust and strengthens the fabric that holds communities together. It is a timeless blueprint for a better world.

Maybe the right question is not “Can the world change?” but “What if I took the first step?”

Di Bello, M., Carnevali, L., Petrocchi, N., Thayer, J. F., Gilbert, P., & Ottaviani, C. (2020). The compassionate vagus: A meta‑analysis on the connection between compassion and heart rate variability. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 116, 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.016

Kirby, J. N., Day, J., & Gilbert, P. (2024). Social rank and compassion: How insecure striving, social safeness, and fears of compassion mediate the relationship between masculinity, depression, and anxiety. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 97(2), 339–353. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12520

Klimecki, O. M., Leiberg, S., Lamm, C., & Singer, T. (2013). Functional neural plasticity and associated changes in positive affect after compassion training. Cerebral Cortex, 23(7), 1552–1561. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhs142

Klimecki, O. M., Leiberg, S., Ricard, M., & Singer, T. (2014). Differential pattern of functional brain plasticity after compassion and empathy training. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9(6), 873–879. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nst060

Leiberg, S., Klimecki, O., & Singer, T. (2011). Short-term compassion training increases prosocial behavior in a newly developed prosocial game. PLoS One, 6(3), e17798. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017798

Lutz, A., Brefczynski-Lewis, J., Johnstone, T., & Davidson, R. J. (2008). Regulation of the neural circuitry of emotion by compassion meditation: Effects of meditative expertise. PLoS One, 3(3), e1897. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0001897

Matos, M., Rodrigues-Santos, P., Sousa, L., Lima, M. P., Palmeira, L., Galhardo, A., Cunha, M., Albuquerque, I., & Gilbert, P. (2024). Can compassion impact us on a cellular level? Preliminary findings on the effects of a compassion-focused intervention on immunological markers and CTRA gene expression. European Psychiatry, 67(Suppl 1), S337. doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2024.696. PMCID: PMC11862740

McCall, C., Steinbeis, N., Ricard, M., & Singer, T. (2014). Compassion meditators show less anger, less punishment, and more compensation of victims in response to fairness violations. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8, 424. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00424