Wanna live long? Then Give – Researchers
Today is Giving Tuesday #GivingTuesday. Well that is if you are reading this post on Tuesday November 28.
I love this ‘concept’ of Giving Tuesday, I must admit. A deliberate time when we are not thinking of ourselves but thinking about how we can give or help someone else.
A time when we can stop being commercialism focused and use our money to a good cause. I will be donating my money to a charity that help Inner City Children in disadvantaged areas, giving them a hope of a better life.
Well, I am not here to brag about my giving…however it is good psychology to tell the world your intentions in writing so it is kind of ‘sealed’. I have committed myself firmly and there is no going back, oh!
Well, researchers say giving is good for you.
So good, that you may even live longer than those who don’t give.
A University of Michigan study proved just what the Good Book says, which is it is more blessed to give than to receive. The study showed that:
“Older people who are helpful to others reduce their risk of dying by nearly 60 percent compared to peers who provide neither practical help nor emotional support to relatives, neighbors or friends.
Making a contribution to the lives of other people may help to extend our own lives,” said the paper’s lead author, Stephanie Brown, a psychologist at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR), the world’s largest academic and survey research organization….
…people who reported providing no help to others were more than twice as likely to die as people who did give some help to others
…these findings suggest that it isn’t what we get from relationships that makes contact with others so beneficial; it’s what we give”
Read the full excerpt of how people who give, live longer here.
Well, that is defo some motivation to giving.
However, what could be the benefits of giving? Here are 5:
1 You feel happy when you give
Do you feel excited and feel that warm glow inside you when you give something to someone?
Well there is scientific evidence that an area of the brain toward the forehead, known as the anterior prefrontal cortex, lights up when we give compared to when we receive a pay-off!
Wham!
When we put the interest of other ahead of us, we feel happier. We feel fulfilled.
Forget about survival for the fittest. The word’s that out is survival of the most generous! Inside each of us is a programming that inherently it is not really about me, myself and I. We are not as selfish as we think!
2 Giving is contagious
When we see others give, often it makes us want to give. There is that nudge inside us that says very loudly and clearly ‘go on then’.
Everyone wants to feel relevant. Everyone wants to make an impact. Think about those charity forms that our colleagues email round the office. By the time one or two people say they are supporting the cause, especially one that you agree with, you are in!
##3 Giving makes us appreciative
How we feel so grateful and content after we have given. Suddenly we realize that life is real good after all. Especially when we are helping those going through a crisis or in a less fortunate position as ourselves.
##4 Giving builds trust and relationships
The one that receives learns to trust the ones that gives. The one that gives has made a compelling move to say, I am giving not because I want to make a name for myself (I hope), but because I feel I need to do this.
In marriages or any relationship that is going through difficult times, the simple act of a meaningful gift can be a start that pays dividend in the long run.
##5 When we give, we receive
Well the Good Book has said this from the beginning. It does not seem to make sense, however there is a law that just goes to work that makes receiving oh so much more easier after we give.
So it is #GivingTuesday today 28 November 2017. And if you reading this next year or after this day, it does not mean it cannot give. Giving should be a habit.
Especially if we want to live long!
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