The Golden Rule: Treat others as you want to be treated.

The Iron Rule: What we do to others, we do to ourselves.

The Platinum Rule: Self-value rises on the kindness we contribute to the world.

There is no behavior toward others, positive or negative, that does not affect us in the same positive or negative way. It’s obvious that feeling hate makes us hateful, feeling contempt makes us contemptuous, and compassion makes us humane. Yet we remain largely unaware of the effects our behavior toward others exact on our own well-being.

For instance, devaluing someone can make us paranoid, as we sense, on some level, that if we do it, others will, too. That’s why bullies can’t take criticism, much less bullying from others. Owning a gun makes us perceive the world as dangerous. You might have felt the world was dangerous before acquiring a gun, but not so much as afterward. People who buy a gun........

© Psychology Today