The Best Gift You Can Give Yourself

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” This quote from Anne Frank reminds us that giving to others is really a gift to ourselves. It’s important to remember this, not only at the giving times of year such as Christmas or birthdays, but throughout the year. It’s also important to give to people you may not even know, not only to family and friends. Giving to people, especially to people you don’t know, makes one feel good. Saskatoon’s own Betty-Ann Heggie, a member of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame, says that giving gifts to worthy causes and people, “make me feel good because I am doing good”.

Now there is scientific proof that generosity will not only make you happier, but is actually good for your health.  According to a study conducted by social psychologist Liz Dunn, not being generous and being ashamed of it, is linked with higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol.  Through her studies she found that when people chose to keep their money rather than share it, they felt shame which led to high cortisol levels, which in turn has been linked to illness.

Even better, researchers at the University of Buffalo found that giving and being unselfish seemed to lead to a lower risk of early death.  One of the researchers, Michael Poulin, PhD said “Our conclusion is that helping others reduced mortality specifically by buffering the association between stress and mortality”. 

In their book “Why Good Things Happen To Good People”, Jill Neimark and Dr. Stephen Post, claim that giving protects your physical and mental well-being. They wrote this book because they believe that giving is a good for you! Post and Neimark claim that giving protects your physical and mental well-being. Their theory is that while you can’t change the things that happen to you or the unkindness of others, you can create your own happiness and take care of your health through acts of generosity. What a concept!

How interesting there is now a science of love and giving. In their book, Neimark and Post offer real-life stories to show how giving leads to health, happiness and a longer life. The incredible research includes a fifty-year study which shows that people who were generous and giving during their high school years have better physical and mental health throughout their entire lives. As with the University of Buffalo’s findings, the Neimark and Post studies show that people who give live longer than those who don’t. Neimark and Post interviewed dozens of people who had suffered unimaginable fates including paraplegics, Holocaust survivors, and people who had had horrific childhoods. Those survivors who found a way to help others overcame their hardships, and lived happier, more fulfilling lives than survivors who were not as generous.

We can make our own happiness and the best way to do so is by being generous to others.  It is now a researched fact that giving to others, even if life has dealt you a difficult blow, will make you happier and healthier.  Generosity is truly the best gift you can give to yourself. Being kind to others and being kind to yourself . . . it's a good thing!