July 17, 2020 • 5 mins
Boost well-being by spending on others
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that giving feels good. If you are
attempting to buy happiness, spending money on others is a
(00:23):
very efficient way to do it. If you've recently found
yourself itching for tangible ways to help others, you're certainly
not alone. The horrible human toll of the COVID nineteen
pandemic and the economic fallout, along with recent events drawing
attention to widespread inequality, have prompted many to want to
(00:43):
give back to their communities. Fortunately, this itch is one
you won't regret scratching. Helping others is always a good
thing to do, and it's also one of the best
ways to make you feel better about life. In general.
Research has found that people in every part of the
world experience an emotional benefit from spending money to help others,
(01:05):
sometimes referred to as pro social spending. In fact, this
effect is thought to be one of the very few
known psychological universals shared by humans worldwide. For example, in
one study, people who recently made donations reported experiencing higher
levels of life satisfaction than those who had. This effect
(01:26):
is seen across income groups, and you don't have to
spend a lot of money to get this emotional kickback either.
Another study showed that spending just five dollars on others
can lead to a measurable increase in the giver's reported happiness.
Spending to help others has been shown to have a
greater impact on happiness compared to spending on ourselves. Humans
(01:48):
are social creatures, and gift giving has long been a
form of cementing alliances. If you buy yourself coffee, that's
the end of it. If you treat your friend to coffee,
you'll probably spend time together enjoying the coffee, and then
she may treat you in return, which doubles the fun.
The same emotional benefit happens when we spend on others
(02:09):
by investing to improve our communities. Some research suggests that
pro social spending provides the greatest emotional benefit when it
helps us connect with others, when we can see the
impact of our giving, and when we feel like we
have the ability to freely choose when and how we give.
This may be one reason that people give most generously
(02:29):
to their own houses of worship. God may command it,
but you're also there a lot seeing what your money
is doing, and it helps you feel connected to your
fellow worshippers. It's also why people tend to feel better
about giving to organizations where they volunteer as well. Pro
social spending can take a variety of different shapes, so
(02:51):
don't feel like you have to box yourself into only
one form of it. For example, perhaps one week you'll
decide to spend half an hour choosing the perfect graduation
gift for your niece and her friends that you've gotten
to know over the years. The next week, you anonymously
leave gift cards for a neighbor who's going through a
rough time. The next week, you choose to donate to
(03:13):
a food bank because you saw a longer line than
usual as you drove past. If you have the financial
resources to do so, making a regular monthly donation to
a small number of causes you care about is great,
but make sure you don't treat this as a set
it and forget it solution. You want to pause each
month as you give to feel grateful that you have
(03:34):
the resources to do so. There's a lot to worry
about in the world, but taking small steps to make
things better not only helps make things better, it makes
us feel more empowered rather than helpless, and as we
feel that way, we start to see bigger challenges that
we can take on. Happiness isn't a zero sum game.
(03:59):
There are myriad reason is to give other than emotional satisfaction.
But we shouldn't view this emotional satisfaction as an embarrassing
or trivial side effect, like how dare I feel happy
when people are suffering? The fact that we feel happier
when we do something to help the suffering is why
(04:19):
people keep doing it. It makes us feel progress is
possible and change only happens when enough people feel that way.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,
(04:44):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
that's b E the number four then breakfast p O D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at iHeartMedia dot com That Before Breakfast is spelled
(05:07):
out with all the letters. Thanks so much. I look
forward to Staying in Touch Before Breakfast is a production
of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from i heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that giving feels good. If you are
attempting to buy happiness, spending money on others is a
(00:23):
very efficient way to do it. If you've recently found
yourself itching for tangible ways to help others, you're certainly
not alone. The horrible human toll of the COVID nineteen
pandemic and the economic fallout, along with recent events drawing
attention to widespread inequality, have prompted many to want to
(00:43):
give back to their communities. Fortunately, this itch is one
you won't regret scratching. Helping others is always a good
thing to do, and it's also one of the best
ways to make you feel better about life. In general.
Research has found that people in every part of the
world experience an emotional benefit from spending money to help others,
(01:05):
sometimes referred to as pro social spending. In fact, this
effect is thought to be one of the very few
known psychological universals shared by humans worldwide. For example, in
one study, people who recently made donations reported experiencing higher
levels of life satisfaction than those who had. This effect
(01:26):
is seen across income groups, and you don't have to
spend a lot of money to get this emotional kickback either.
Another study showed that spending just five dollars on others
can lead to a measurable increase in the giver's reported happiness.
Spending to help others has been shown to have a
greater impact on happiness compared to spending on ourselves. Humans
(01:48):
are social creatures, and gift giving has long been a
form of cementing alliances. If you buy yourself coffee, that's
the end of it. If you treat your friend to coffee,
you'll probably spend time together enjoying the coffee, and then
she may treat you in return, which doubles the fun.
The same emotional benefit happens when we spend on others
(02:09):
by investing to improve our communities. Some research suggests that
pro social spending provides the greatest emotional benefit when it
helps us connect with others, when we can see the
impact of our giving, and when we feel like we
have the ability to freely choose when and how we give.
This may be one reason that people give most generously
(02:29):
to their own houses of worship. God may command it,
but you're also there a lot seeing what your money
is doing, and it helps you feel connected to your
fellow worshippers. It's also why people tend to feel better
about giving to organizations where they volunteer as well. Pro
social spending can take a variety of different shapes, so
(02:51):
don't feel like you have to box yourself into only
one form of it. For example, perhaps one week you'll
decide to spend half an hour choosing the perfect graduation
gift for your niece and her friends that you've gotten
to know over the years. The next week, you anonymously
leave gift cards for a neighbor who's going through a
rough time. The next week, you choose to donate to
(03:13):
a food bank because you saw a longer line than
usual as you drove past. If you have the financial
resources to do so, making a regular monthly donation to
a small number of causes you care about is great,
but make sure you don't treat this as a set
it and forget it solution. You want to pause each
month as you give to feel grateful that you have
(03:34):
the resources to do so. There's a lot to worry
about in the world, but taking small steps to make
things better not only helps make things better, it makes
us feel more empowered rather than helpless, and as we
feel that way, we start to see bigger challenges that
we can take on. Happiness isn't a zero sum game.
(03:59):
There are myriad reason is to give other than emotional satisfaction.
But we shouldn't view this emotional satisfaction as an embarrassing
or trivial side effect, like how dare I feel happy
when people are suffering? The fact that we feel happier
when we do something to help the suffering is why
(04:19):
people keep doing it. It makes us feel progress is
possible and change only happens when enough people feel that way.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,
(04:44):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
that's b E the number four then breakfast p O D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at iHeartMedia dot com That Before Breakfast is spelled
(05:07):
out with all the letters. Thanks so much. I look
forward to Staying in Touch Before Breakfast is a production
of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from i heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Before Breakfast News
Host
Laura Vanderkam
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