Helping others helps you

People who sincerely care about helping others don’t expect anything in return for their good deeds. Giving back, however, naturally benefits difference makers in ways that help make their lives more joyful and more successful. Helping is an art. You can help strangers, loved ones, communities, animals and even the planet — whatever you’re passionate about! Through helping, you can create beautiful outcomes like a smile on someone’s face or finding a rescue dog a forever home. This “work of art” is immensely impactful and can change your life with these benefits

We all know that helping others is a positive experience; that positivity can consume you and lift you up, generating an overall optimistic perspective and mindset. Living life through a positive lens can empower you to succeed professionally, financially, personally and health-wise. For example, researchers at Johns Hopkins found that among people with a family history of heart disease, those who exhibit mental positivity were 33% less likely to experience a major coronary event than their negative-thinking counterparts. Studies show that volunteering enhances an individual’s overall sense of purpose and identity.  This is because helping others can make you feel rewarded, fulfilled and empowered. You may find that volunteering for an organization evolved from a hobby into a full-fledged passion. This passion may inspire your transition into a more impactful career like teaching, nursing or working for a nonprofit. Also, volunteering can provide you with skills applicable to your job that can help advance your career, such as teamwork, leadership, communication, problem-solving, decision making, project management and organization.

As you volunteer more and more with an organization, you start to form friendships with other volunteers and those who work for the organization. You become a part of a mini community made up of like-minded people who share your values and passion to help. A close network like this can provide a sense of belonging and “social success.” Connection can boost emotional health, support you in overcoming challenges and simply make life more enjoyable.

Helping other people become successful can inspire you to push yourself to be more successful too, like setting new goals or stepping outside your comfort zone. For example, you may donate your time to help unemployed people find jobs. You could help with resume coaching or clothing assistance. Then to witness that person find a job is rewarding. The experience could be a driving force for you to go after opportunities you never thought possible.

Another potential outcome of volunteering is a boost to your mental and physical health. Visiting the elderly or boxing up food for people in need with other volunteers can release endorphins that can create a helper’s high, which could relieve stress, cure loneliness, boost self-esteem and provide you with a purpose.

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