The Happiness of Helping Others
- Ray Gutoski
- Dec 21, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 24, 2024
How helping others significantly increases our own happiness and life satisfaction
There is significant research that shows that people who devote a part of their time to helping others, volunteering and being of service see a significant rise in their level of happiness and well being, self esteem and life satisfaction. Even spending a little time engaging in these kinds of activities consistently will have this effect. The research actually shows that we are actually happier when we give than when we receive and it may be built into the evolutionary development of our genes. The positive social connections and friendships you form also are a significant part of this as well.
One of the best examples of this in literature is in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," where Ebenezer Scrooge's life is transformed through acts of kindness and generosity. Initially, Scrooge's miserly ways and isolation lead to unhappiness and loneliness. However, after visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, Scrooge begins to prioritize kindness, charity and connection. As a result his happiness level skyrockets.
The real-world benefits of helping others and engaging in service activities are really significant and include:
Reduces stress, anxiety and actually can help with depression.
Enhances social connections: Kindness fosters deeper relationships and community ties.
Increases positive emotions
Increases Self-Worth: Service activities boost self-esteem and confidence.
Greater Life Satisfaction: Prioritizing others' well-being leads to heightened overall satisfaction with your life.
How identifying your unique core character strengths and using them in service to others can significantly increase your own happiness and the effect we have on helping others
There are many ways we can help others and be of service but if we recognize and use our own unique core strengths in doing this - the strengths we each possess that we really enjoy using and look forward to using the most this process not only becomes more enjoyable to us but more effective in helping others.
The VIA Character institute has identified 24 essential character strengths that we all possess to some degree or another. (See below for the complete list.) . But each of us have one, two or more of them that are the strengths we really look forward to using and enjoy using the most as unique individuals. These are our unique “signature” or core character strengths, the strengths where we
Feel most engaged and motivated.
Experience heightened sense of purpose.
Demonstrate skill and efficiency.
Derive the greatest joy and satisfaction in using
Below is a list of the 24 character strengths from the VIA Character Institute and possible ways we can use them to help others and be of service.
You can go to the VIA Character Strength Survey on line on the link at the end of this article and take a short survey to see which of the below are your top five unique core character strengths
The 24 VIA Character Strengths and service activity examples of how you can use them in helping others
Once you identify which of the below are your unique "signature" character strengths find a way to use them such as in the examples given below.
Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence: Volunteer at art museums, organize community clean-up initiatives or lead gardening projects.
Bravery: Participate in disaster relief, advocate for social justice or mentor at-risk youth.
Creativity: Develop art programs for underprivileged children, design accessible community spaces or lead writing workshops.
Curiosity: Conduct research, lead science workshops or organize community lectures.
Fairness: Advocate for social justice, volunteer at human rights organizations or lead community mediation programs.
Forgiveness: Facilitate conflict resolution workshops, volunteer at restorative justice programs or lead mindfulness retreats.
Gratitude: Create appreciation initiatives, write inspirational stories or develop gratitude journals.
Humor: Organize comedy events for mental health awareness, create humorous educational content or lead laughter therapy sessions.
Honesty: Volunteer at transparency advocacy groups, lead ethics workshops or participate in community accountability initiatives.
Judgment: Offer expert consulting services, mentor entrepreneurs or lead strategic planning workshops.
Kindness: Organize charity events, volunteer at animal shelters or lead community outreach programs.
Leadership: Take on leadership roles in organizations, mentor emerging leaders or lead community development initiatives.
Love: Volunteer at nursing homes, lead relationship-building workshops or participate in community matchmaking programs.
Loyalty: Support long-term community projects, volunteer at loyalty programs for vulnerable populations or lead community engagement initiatives.
Perseverance: Coach individuals overcoming challenges, lead community fitness initiatives or participate in endurance events for charity.
Authenticity: Develop inclusive programs promoting diversity, lead self-expression workshops or volunteer at LGBTQ+ organizations.
Self-Regulation: Teach mindfulness, lead stress management workshops or volunteer at mental health organizations.
Spirituality: Lead interfaith dialogue initiatives, volunteer at spiritual centers or organize community meditation sessions.
Teamwork: Participate in community sports, lead collaborative art projects or volunteer at team-building organizations.
Time Management: Offer productivity coaching, lead organizational workshops or volunteer at efficiency advocacy groups.
Zest: Organize community festivals, lead energy-boosting workshops or participate in joy-spreading initiatives.
Hope: Volunteer at crisis hotlines, lead optimism workshops or participate in community goal-setting programs.
Humility: Develop modesty-promoting programs, lead gratitude initiatives or volunteer at humility-focused organizations.
Prudence: Offer financial planning services, lead responsible decision-making workshops or volunteer at prudence advocacy groups.
Discover Your Signature Strengths
If you go to the VIA Character Strengths website at the link below you can take their free short survey to show you what your top five unique character strengths are, Then you can seek to find opportunities in existing organizations to be of service using these use the links below to find opportunities to be of service using those strengths or create a way to do it on your own.
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