When I was a kid, I thought the old saying, "’Tis better to give than receive" was a load of old baloney. However, since I’ve gotten older, I get far more enjoyment from handing the candy out to kids on Halloween than I did when I was on the other side of the door. It seems the feel-good factor in giving gave me more of a buzz than a bag full of candy did.
So agrees a study published in Science done by the University of British Columbia and Harvard. These back up the findings of a 2006 study reported on in Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences. It doesn’t matter how much you give (giving more money does not equal getting more happiness), just as long as you give.
What Defines Giving To Charity?
Although the studies centered on the aftereffects of Americans who gave money to charity, there is more to acting charitable than just digging in your pockets. And, considering how the economy is going, many people might not be able to part with a penny as a matter of survival. But you can still do charitable acts even when penniless. These include:
- Giving someone who is lost directions
- Sharing your food with someone
- Going through your clutter and donating items you already have but don’t need to charity
- Helping someone to stand back up when they’ve fallen down
- Saying "thank you" (you never know when this can make someone’s day)
- Donating blood (if you are healthy enough)
If You Do Want To Give Money
Just give what you can safely afford and don’t give to every charity under the sun, or you will wind up being a charity case yourself. Pick a topic you are concerned with most — community problems, animal rights, the environment, curing a disease, that sort of thing — and stick with charities in that area. You can check out my previous post on less stressful charity giving for more details.
One of the reasons life is so stressful is that we often feel powerless. Giving to charity helps you take control of not only some of the world’s problems, but your own perception of those problems. You can make a difference, somehow.
Hope this helps.
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