Why Do Moments With Strangers Challenge Cynicism?

Kelly McGonigal says a moment of connection with a stranger challenges cynicism, because it lets a person sense the good in themselves. When she started teaching a class on joy and asked people for joy reports, she was shocked by how many peak moments were connections with strangers. She did not even believe that some of the stories had happened, or that people had felt what they described. They said the moment made them glad to be alive, gave them hope, and filled them with joy.

She calls that feeling elevation, one of her favorite forms of joy. Something good in the world resonates with the good in you, and you allow yourself to feel good about it. People do not have to keep guarding the part of themselves that wants to respond.