There isn’t a magical cure-all for the mental health difficulties that persist, but there is an underappreciated, but handy, approach that can, over time, improve matters in a meaningful way. Yes, an exceptional game-changer has been hiding in plain sight! It’s a difference-maker that’s been, unfortunately, typically taught in a haphazard, insufficient manner.

So, what’s the outstanding, but undervalued, force able to slowly but surely improve how people attend to their mental well-being? The answer is niceness! When defined as prioritized, customary displays of kindness and fairness, niceness brings about the give and get trust, empathy, regard and safety required to produce and maintain personal and social harmony.

Committing to this type of niceness requires kindness and fairness be routinely taught throughout childhood and adolescence. That is, niceness must be given the status of other structured school subjects. Also, using the term niceology would help distinguish the study of such niceness. In conjunction, teachers would present kindness and fairness as unmatched ways not only to acquire basic needs but also to boost psychological healing.

To prompt such a curriculum addition, a formidable, longstanding obstacle must be overcome. Concisely stated, a readiness to see teaching niceness as simplistic and, as a result, ineffectual must be surmounted. Skeptics need to be shown how niceness coursework promotes sound reasoning. Doubters also need to understand how kindness and fairness can advance their psychological survival. Above all, disbelievers need to have the following premise patiently and satisfactorily explained: Niceness is an unequaled peace-of-mind healthcare strategy.

There’s a desire within all for a kinder and fairer world. The challenge is to channel this inclination into a willingness to become niceology trailblazers—pioneers determined to bring about a rigorous niceness course of study. Those inclined to disregard this challenge must be convinced there’s an underestimated potential within everyone. They must be persuaded that, when nurtured by way of an ongoing educational experience, this capacity would result in health-producing kindness and fairness.

An easy-to-put-to-use approach to learning niceness is possible. Online, self-directed lessons wouldn’t call for a curriculum shake-up. They would merely require time slots and online access. Moreover, those guiding others in niceness instruction would be casual explorers rather than intense experts. Instead of providing correction and computing grades, guides would suggest collaboration and offer encouragement.