The important role Altruism plays in your happiness.
One word.
8 letters.
Guaranteed to give you happiness and fulfillment.
Proven by neuroscience.
The word is…
A L T R U I S M
And the definition of this magical word?
“An act of kindness unselfishly focused the welfare and good of others.”
And what’s more…
It challenges the selfish Egoist.
You see…
The Egoist does things for his own benefit. Kind of a “I’ll help you as long as I get something back”, or a “What’s in it for me?” attitude.
And what does an Altruist believe?
Something like…
“Poor man. He must feel awful. I’ve got to help him so that he feels better.”
And here’s the win-win…
Acting selfishly does absolutely nothing for your own levels of happiness.
But acting selflessly will trigger the release of happy hormones in your body.
So let’s run by that one more time…
Selfish acts increase your happiness levels by a big fat ZERO!
Genuine acts of kindness towards others will boost your feelings of happiness and fulfillment – guaranteed!
(There are numerous studies from the world of neuroscience to confirm this now).
Hmmmm….
Kind of makes you think, doesn’t it?
What do advertisers tell us will make us happier?
A new watch.
A bigger house.
A faster car.
But it is simply not true.
Yes you may get a temporary, superficial feeling of happiness when you act purely with your own interests at heart.
But the key words here are temporary and superficial.
That kind of apparent happiness won’t last.
Pretty soon you’ll want to feed that hungry Egoist inside again.
And again.
And again.
But, an act of altruism. A simple act of kindness. That gives you something else…
Lasting feelings of fulfillment.
Joy.
Purpose.
Meaning.
So as you step into the New Year, it’s your choice.
What’s it gonna be?
Will you feed the Egoist or the Altruist inside of you?
I’m off to give some of my time and authentic kindness to someone who needs it.
How about you?
To your happiness and fulfillment.
Steve Neale
“Europe’s Leading Expert on Personal and Professional Growth”
Psychologist, Executive Coach, EI Practitioner, Award Winning Trainer, International Author, Psychodynamic Therapist, Hypnotherapist, Mindfulness Instructor, International Speaker, Creator of the LPS, Creator of the Accredited Masters in High Performance Leadership
