Through my research for my podcast, Work From Your Happy Place, I have identified the top five contributors to one’s overall happiness. One of those is giving to others.
Where the world is right now, giving has become more important that ever. We have unprecedented challenges that we are struggling to work through, both personally and professionally.
Of course we know that giving to others is so important to the benefactor, but it also becomes equally as rewarding for the person giving.
Let’s jump right in and talk about why giving is so important and how it contributes to your overall happiness.
When you give to others, you are the one who gets the gift.
There is truly nothing like the feeling you get when someone lets you know that you have made a difference for them, or even changed their life.
Giving is a lasting joy that stays with you. We often talk about our “giving” experiences years later, because they are so vivid in our minds! When you make a positive impact on someone else, that feeling, and the memory, never leave you.
It’s good for your soul to think of someone other than yourself, and your mind and body reap the benefits of that by bringing you lasting joy.
When people think of giving, they sometimes only think of things such as writing a check to a charity, but there are so many ways that you can be a giver!
For us, these have been financially challenging times for our business. As a small business trying to keep everyone employed on our team while business has taken a significant hit, we sat down and looked for other ways we could give. What we came up with was that we would carve out a portion of the sales of our 2021 Planner and donate that amount to Feeding America. Each planner sale would feed 20 people. By doing this in December, we were able to help feed 25,00 people!
By enlisting other people into our campaign, we were able to give more than what we would have been able to do by ourselves.
It only takes a moment or a single interaction to give. Here are some ways you can be a giver starting today:
Give Time:
- Mentor someone
- Volunteer for a soup kitchen
- Join a clean up effort after a natural disaster
- Shop for an elderly neighbor who has trouble going out
- Listen to someone (really listen, without the intent of responding)
- Habitat For Humanity
- Boys and Girls Clubs/Be a Big Brother or Big Sister
Give Support:
- Donate clothing to a homeless shelter
- Give your frequent flyer miles to someone who needs to travel for an emergency
- Give sick-time to another at your company who is need of time off for family/personal reasons
- Make a meal for someone in need
Give Hope:
- Donate business attire to Dress For Success
- Teach interview skills to a job candidate in need
- Connect two people who may be able to help one another
Give Knowledge:
- Do a free presentation or workshop at a local library to teach a skill
- Offer to coach an individual who can’t afford your services, but are passionate about improving themselves
- Tutor kids after school
- Start a YouTube Channel and make short videos showing people how to do something you know how to do
Give Money:
- Make a donation to a charity
- Support someone’s Go Fund Me page
- Send money to a specific organization after a natural disaster
- Pay for someone to get a make-over or have a day of pampering
- Arrange catered meals to a family who has just experienced a loss
There are so many ways that you can be benefiting someone, somewhere.
It’s easy to fall into the “when I retire” trap, because you are waiting to have “more time” or “more money.” However, when it comes to giving, you don’t have to wait! There are ways to give every day of your life. Little things can make a big difference.
Change how you look at giving. Make giving a habit. Look for opportunities to give every single day, and then give! Each time you give, not only does it make you happy, but it makes the recipient happy as well! That often creates a cycle of “paying it forward.”
My challenge to you is to find one thing today that you can do to be a giver.
Whether it’s giving of your money, your talents, your time, your resources, volunteering or mentoring; whether it’s through a non-profit organization or charity or your church; whether it’s serving people less fortunate than you, younger people, older people, co-workers, teammates, a friend or a total stranger, YOU have so many opportunities to benefit someone, somewhere.
When you give to others, you also get a gift - giving makes you happy.
By the way, if you’re curious about the other contributors to your happiness, check out my article, 5 Core Principles of People Who Are Happier.