Helping others can have a significant impact on our personal happiness. According to Dr. Laurie Santos of Yale University, one of the five essential elements of happiness is altruism.
“But if you look at happy people, they’re not as self-focused. They tend to be really other-oriented. Happy people on average, controlled for income, donate more money to charity. Happy people on average, controlled for free time, spend more of their time volunteering.”
Dr Laurie Santos (TED Interview “How to be a Better Human”)
How can helping others benefit us? Helping others positively affects the parts of our brain linked with happiness. By helping others:
- We feel good because altruism boosts our self-esteem
- We build connections and remove ourselves from isolation by meeting new people
- We get a sense of belonging to a community
- Volunteering with different people opens us up to new perspectives
- Even observing a good deed affects us positively
It’s easy to start small, but it’s even more important to do so on a day that may not be going well. Step out of negativity by performing one act of simple kindness:
- Hold the door or elevator for a stranger.
- Let another driver make a turn at a stop light.
- Let the person with a few grocery items go ahead of your packed cart.
Alternatively, you can join an organization as a volunteer and devote a certain number of hours to serving others.
What acts of kindness have you performed today?
Copyright © 2023 Devashri Gupta. All rights reserved.
