Most people want to be happy in life and according to a new survey, being generous has a lot to do with it. The Ascent, an online financial product review site, talked to 1,000 adults about how content they are with their life and how selfless they are. And it turns out, people who are more likely to be generous are also more likely to report being happy.
For the survey, participants were asked how satisfied they are with different aspects of their life, including friendships, finances, and their career. Each participant was also asked to rank how likely they are to do different selfless behaviors on the Adapted Self-Report Altruism Scale, things like donating clothes to charity or giving directions to a stranger.
In the high-generosity group, 74% of respondents were “satisfied” with their life overall, compared to 60% of the low-generosity group. People who scored extremely high on the altruism scale were also more satisfied in friendships, family life, social life, romantic life, career, and finances categories. The High-generosity types were almost three times as likely to say they’re “very happy” every day, so they’re not just happier, but happier more often.
So there you have it: It really is better to give than to receive! I love the fact that the study talked about giving of your time and resources, and not just giving money. Not all of us can afford to give much financially, but we can probably all be better--myself included--about giving in other ways. Just something to think about as we enter the holiday season!