Every day, you hear amazing stories about people who save the lives of strangers. You read about how they jeopardised their health, their safety, their whole entire life; to save someone else’s. And as remarkable it is, you wonder to yourself how anyone could be so brave, so selfless; to care that much for someone they barely knew. I believe I know why.

I remember when I first became a mother. Like many first-time parents, I marvelled at my daughter Alisha. I thought she was so cute; her little face, her little arms, her little legs. And I was waiting in anticipation for her to grow up; for her to ‘reward’ all the late night feeds and nappy changes with her smile, her laugh, and her growing development.

But the ‘rewards’ didn’t come straight away; Alisha wasn’t even aware of who she was, let alone who I was. But being a mother still made me happy, it still made me proud. It didn’t matter that Alisha didn’t ‘know’ how much I was doing for her; it just felt nice to know that I was making a difference to her life. I was caring for her and loving her out of the kindness of my own heart.

And I think that’s why I believe we, as human beings, are such wonderful creatures. We do things for people because we CARE, not because we expect anything in return.

I believe that people are willing to save the lives of strangers because it makes them happy to see others HAPPY. Yes, that could be a reward in itself, but it’s not an expected one. They put their life on the line because they care too much not to try.

And the recent Batman shooting in a Colorado movie theatre is a classic example of this. Despite the horrible nature of the event, there were so many beautiful people in that theatre who cared more about the lives of others than their own. Matt McQuinn died saving the life of his girlfriend; words cannot fathom how truly amazing I believe he must have been.

When you do something for someone; don’t think about the rewards, don’t expect anything in return. Do it out of the kindness of your own heart. When you become less focused on rewards, but more focused on others; you will find greater happiness within yourself.

Thuy Le (formerly known as Thuy Yau) is a freelance writer and Youth Work graduate living in Perth, Australia. She loves to share her own personal experiences about overcoming adversity, as she believes that human beings are more capable than they realise. She writes to make a positive difference in the world and to inspire others to learn from themselves and their own experiences. Her writing has been discussed on radio, won writing contests, appeared on The Huffington Post UK and major Australian sites such as news.com.au, SMH, Kidspot and Essential Kids. She has just completed her first book – a memoir - and is on the search for a publisher.