9 Ways that Giving Back Helps You
Of all the trends sweeping the country, giving back is possibly the very best one. Individuals, families, schools, non-profit programs, organizations like the Bob Parsons’ foundation, and entire communities are jumping on the do-gooder wagon.
From spending hours volunteering to simply writing a check and sending it off in the mail, there are a host of ways to contribute. Aside from doing good for others, giving back also benefits the self.
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Here’s how:
1.Feel More Happy
Volunteering makes people feel more hopeful and happy. This is not an assumption, it’s an actual thing with a name: Helper’s High. By feeling useful, people begin to feel more optimistic than before. Plus, your outlook will improve.
2. Ease Depression
Meaning replaces depression and negative thoughts. Helping others keeps you from fixating on your own thoughts and problems. According to a Boston College study, patients who dealt with chronic pain had MRI scans after volunteering which showed decreases in disability, pain and depression.
3. Increase Confidence
Making a difference is empowering and confidence-boosting.
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4. Improve Quality of Life
Studies have shown that teens who volunteered weren’t just happier, but they also used drugs less and got better grades in school. The University of California-Los Angeles backs up this case with studies that show that volunteering helps you live a longer life.
5. Connect With Others
When you volunteer, you’ll meet other kindred souls who have the same outlook on giving back.
6. Discover a Calling
You never know what volunteering is going to lead to. You may find out that you have a passion for helping people or a new goal of regularly giving back to the community or world. You may even find a new skill, hobby, or even career choice. When you volunteer, you may be thrown into a setting that you’re not used to – and you may thrive when you’re out of your comfort zone. Who knew you were so good at building homes from scratch?
7. Boost Job Performance
When you volunteer, you’ll find that you’re more resourceful and creative in your day-to-day life, including your 9-to-5 job. This is especially true if volunteering has something to do with your current position or company – you’ll see first-hand how much your job truly impacts others.
8. Attract Employers
On every resume, there’s space for including volunteer and charity work. After you give back, you don’t have to leave that section out any longer! Volunteering doesn’t just show employers that you like to keep busy and that you’re team- and community-minded, it can also contribute to your job skills.
9. Appreciate the Outside World
It can be easy to get stuck in a routine when you go about the same responsibilities day in and day out. Volunteering often exposes you to different parts of the world (or just a new part of town), new people, new cultures… You’ll expand your world while helping others.
Nothing compares with the feeling of helping others. There are so many things people do to unwind, de-stress, and get centered, but there’s not a margarita, beach, high-paying job, or mansion that feels as good for the soul as giving others a hand
