New research has revealed that the benefits of giving reach far beyond a passing feel-good moment — extending to better health.
A recent study from Harvard Medical School (US) found that simply contemplating generosity boosts your immunity. When students watched a film about Mother Theresa tending to orphans, the number of protective antibodies in their saliva surged. When students were then asked to focus on times when they felt loved or loving towards others, their antibody levels stayed elevated for an hour. In another study, the brain’s pleasure centre lit up when a person ticked from a list of organisations those they wanted to donate to.
“If you want a better life, better health, and the sense of being connected and hopeful in this world, the answer is to give,” says Stephen Post, bioethicist and author of Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How the Simple Act of Giving Can Bring You a Longer, Happier, Healthier Life (Broadway Books).
Reach out to others
According to life coach Steward Rogers, reaching out to others in business and in life not only helps them but can increase your chances of success. “When you have someone to discuss your ideas with and who helps you to think widely and remain focused on your goals, you will find it easier to move forward,” he says. If you know that you are answerable to someone else for your actions then you are generally more motivated to put your ideas into practice.
Become a mentor
Generosity takes countless forms. When you teach someone a new skill or technique or encourage them to pursue a dream, you empower them with a sense of value. “Many people have great ideas, but few act upon them. For example, lots of people dream about writing a novel, but few people actually put pen to paper. A life coach or mentor helps you to set goals for achievement of your ideas or dreams and then works with you in a strategic way to set goals and implement them, thus moving you towards turning your ideas into reality in a structured manner,” says Rogers.
Celebrate others’ happiness
One of the simplest ways to give, and often the most difficult, is to delight in someone else’s good fortune. “There’s this inherent fear that if someone else is happy, there’s less happiness left in the world for us. But that’s not true,” says Sharon Salzberg author of Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness (Shambhala Publications). Salzberg says that this fear closes us off, and she suggests that the next time you get word of a friend’s good fortune, counter the fear of “not enough” with joy. Celebrating someone else’s good fortune allows that positive energy to rub off on us.
Comments