This year's World Kindness Day we chatted to our 2012 MA Education graduate Sebastian Bóo about his book Kindness: A Pocket Guide, the importance of kindness in our lives and the effect it has on our mental and physical wellbeing!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your current job.

My name is Sebastian Bóo and, as your readers, I am a proud alumnus of Middlesex University.

I have gone on to become a social science researcher and trainer, assisting students with Specific Learning Difficulties at Birkbeck College and the London School of Economics. I also show clients in the public and private sectors how they can use the science of kindness to improve their performance. Most recently, I have condensed this knowledge into a plain-English, accessible book, Kindness: A Pocket Guide.

What is your fondest memory of Middlesex?

I participated in archery and tai chi and enjoyed using the gym and outdoor swimming pool at the Trent Park campus.

In addition to my MA in Education, I attended several years of summer school at Middlesex, such as courses in stress management and positive psychology, which I have found very helpful in my career.

You have recently published a book - tell us a bit about it!

Kindness: A Pocket Guide is a plain-English read that introduces its audience to the latest scientific evidence for why kindness, compassion and empathy are so good for us and why they can have powerful benefits.

Its twelve short chapters turn readers into instant experts on kindness - once armed with the knowledge, they’ll be able to better champion the kindness cause at work, at home or wherever they might be. It’s available in paperback and ebook format from Amazon; audio and other language editions are in the pipeline. To get Sebastian's book, visit this link.

What inspired you to write this book?

The idea for this book came after I saw my thirty-year-old cousin and childhood playmate die from an inoperable brain tumour. This made me consider what will be going through my mind when I am on my own deathbed. I realised, that for me, it will be important to believe that I have contributed in some way to making the world better.

So, “what does our world most need right now?” I asked myself. My answer was, and still is, “more kindness”.

This provides both the reason for and premise of this pocket guide. Kindness is still not sufficiently prioritised, and the world urgently needs more of it: not soft, let’s-all-be-nice, submissive kindness, but intelligent, courageous, and fierce kindness. This means taking wise, and sometimes difficult, action to support wellbeing and reduce distress and suffering in others.

Why do you think kindness in one’s everyday life is important?

Research shows that giving and receiving kind acts, whether that’s to and from others or ourselves, can have an amazing influence on not just our mental health, but also our physical health.

For example, being kind through volunteering has been linked to reduced blood pressure and cholesterol, while even the seemingly small act of writing a supportive note to a friend reduces the harmful effects of excessive stress on the body.

Is there anything we can do to make us more kind towards others, and towards ourselves?

Of course, my cop-out answer would be to read my book! But more simply, I would suggest taking time to slow down and notice your immediate reactions to situations, so that you can think about how best to proceed, and respond mindfully.

It’s easy and understandable to be sceptical of kindness and self-kindness - my hope is that the book will help bust that scepticism.

What piece of advice would you give our MDX students and alumni community?

Get networking! I’ve made some excellent contacts through organisations like Toastmasters International, where you can build up your public speaking skills, as well as professional education and disability support associations.

Got 'a day in the life of' that you'd like to share? Email us on GivingBack@mdx.ac.uk