Are you kind-hearted and generous or do you struggle with giving?
If you’re a giver, you’re probably familiar with the joys of giving. If you’re not, you’re missing out!
It’s a bit of a paradox, but research shows that giving has a net positive effect on the giver as well as the beneficiary.
For some of us, this may come as no surprise as we may easily recall how it made us feel to give a gift and to see the delight of the one receiving it.
However, what may surprise you to learn is that giving can improve your mental and physical health as research reveals it can lower blood pressure, increase your self-esteem, reduce depression, lower stress levels and lead to living a longer, happier life.
Although the aim of giving should not be selfish, it’s a great bonus to know that your generosity is a gift to yourself.
If you’re struggling to give, it doesn’t automatically mean that you’re a selfish person, you could have valid reasons for not giving freely or cheerfully.
For example, some people struggle to give because they’re worried that they may not have enough for themselves or that what they have to give isn’t good enough. Some worry that their giving won’t make a difference or be appreciated, and others worry that receivers may take advantage of their kindness.
These concerns aren’t characteristics of selfish people, but rather insecure people and it is important to acknowledge the difference.
If you’re hesitant to be generous to someone, consider that the act will only do you good and if your generosity is not acknowledged by another that is a poor reflection on them, not you.
Reasons to Give
Whether you’re struggling to give or you’re the biggest giver you know, we have three encouraging facts around giving to either motivate you to start or continue being a cheerful giver:
You’ll experience greater happiness and satisfaction
Research shows that giving can activate parts of your brain associated with pleasure, connection with people and trust.
There’s also evidence that your brain secretes feel-good chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin.
So, the next time you’re excited or happy about sharing or giving a gift, recognize that feeling as one of the wonderful gifts you get in return, it’s called “helpers high”.
You’ll be healthier
Giving has also been scientifically proven to have mental and physical health benefits such as increased self-esteem, less depression, lowered levels of stress and lower your blood pressure.
You could touch the lives of others
Besides benefiting you, it’s also worthwhile to remember how your kindness can impact the world around you.
There are hundreds of charities to choose from for a reason – the world and the people in it are in need of things they can’t have without the help of generous people.
At Halcyon, we recognize the need to create a virtuous society and we’ve invested in various campaigns to do so.
From campaigning to protect our children from exposure to harmful pornographic content, to making sure the rights of crime victims are upheld, we would not have been able to do it without kind people who decided to give by donating to our cause.
Thanks for giving!