The Benefits of Giving to Others Thumbnail

The benefits of giving to others are numerous and most are fairly obvious. Sharing with others, when you have abundance, is a centuries old act of human kindness that has given far-reaching benefits to generations. These benefits can be humanitarian, financial or cultural; they can give improved health, as well as freedom from disease and hunger.

The statistics speak for themselves, so if you have ever been in doubt as to the need for giving to others, look at the following statistics:

  • Up to 1.5 billion people don’t have access to clean water.
  • 25% of the world’s people are starving.
  • One child dies every couple of seconds from a disease that could have been prevented.
  • Close to 10% of the people in the world are illiterate.
  • 3 million Americans are homeless in any given year.

The reasons for giving for humanitarian reasons are obvious, but there are many worthwhile causes closer to you, within your community. So, in this short article, we will explore some of the more personal benefits of giving to other people. 

Karma

Many people believe that what goes around comes around. They believe that if they do good deeds to others, the same will be done to them. It certainly does seem as though happy people attract happiness; wealthy people attract money; generous people attract generosity.

Self-esteem

Research has shown that people who give to others feel good about themselves, adding to their level of self-esteem and self-confidence. Giving to others supports your feelings of self-worth.

Life satisfaction

People who give to others are generally more satisfied with their own situation and life than those who don’t. Givers seem better able to cope with problems and difficulties in their own lives, maybe because they have a good understanding of how many people are worse off than they are. Helping others gives meaning to your life and helps to make life worthwhile. While you are thinking about another person, you aren’t dwelling on your own problems, so you lower your stress levels.

Feel good

Doctors have found that, while a regular phone call of support, from one cancer sufferer to another, helped the recipient, the real winner was the person ringing to help a fellow-sufferer. The improvements in quality of life that the helper experienced far outstripped those of the receiver. It also appears that these benefits gained by helping others last for years.

People who are happy to give to others are generally healthier and don’t suffer from anxiety and depression to the same extent as the community average. It seems that, contrary to popular belief, we don’t feel good by what we get; we feel good because of what we give. The reason for this phenomenon is that it isn’t possible to feel those negative emotions when we are engaged in kind and compassionate deeds. A positive cycle is set up – we help others which makes us feel good which makes us more likely to engage in more acts of kindness.

Different forms of giving to others

  • Money – many worthwhile causes need constant injections of cash.
  • Goods and services – give new and secondhand goods or use your skills to help others. For example, if you have an old boat that you no longer use, you can donate it to a charity. Once you know how to donate a boat, the rest of the process is quite simple, as the charity sells your boat through an online auction. Once the winning bid has been selected, the money for which the boat sells is given to a charity. You have some control over the charity that receives the money, as there is a list from which you can choose. Finally, you are given a tax deduction in the amount of the boat’s value in exchange for your generosity.
  • Time – volunteering your time is a great way of giving to others; you are giving of yourself. Sometimes people just need someone to listen to them.
  • Expertise – teaching others what you know
  • Random Acts of Kindness – little things that you do for people in your life or total strangers, often without their knowledge, that will brighten their day.
  • Smile – the cheapest and simplest gift you can give another human being is a smile. It shows that another person acknowledges them and brightens the day of both the giver and receiver.

Take these benefits of giving to others onboard and look for ways that you can give to help others. You will find plenty of opportunities within your own circle of friends, your local and wider community as well as overseas.

So, what benefits have you received from helping others?