This is one of the MOST cliche topics of ever, but I still really want to cover it.
Hello there fellow wanderlusters! It's Day 2 of the 12 Days of Blogmas, and today's topic is Giving vs. Receiving! :) It's going to be a tad short, though ...
Giving. It could be something as simple as donating $10 to UNICEF, volunteering at a homeless shelter (which I did last year), or donating old clothes. It's easy to focus on our wants. It's easy to ask for new iPhones, but really put that into perspective - 22,000 kids die each day just from poverty, and you're whining for a smartphone?
And in a way, giving IS receiving. You get that happy, I'm-making-the-world-a-better-place kind of feeling, which is insurmountable. Knowing that you've helped someone who needs it really puts a smile on your face. Remember that giving doesn't have to be material, or to the underprivileged; it can just be smiling at the new kid or really listening to your friend when she needs a shoulder to lean on.
But what about receiving? Sure, if you get that new sweater you've been asking for, you'll be happy for a few months. But then you'll accidentally splatter paint on your sweater, or make a huge hole in it, and it'll end up wadded in a ball under your bed, that old ugly sweater you don't want anymore. But if you give something to people who need it, it can't wear out. The feeling of giving can't wear out. And that's exactly why.
I even read this article from Psychology Today, which scientifically proves that it is, indeed, better to give than to receive. A social psychologist surveyed 600 US citizens who showed greater happiness when spending money on others rather than themselves. In another Canadian experiment, students at a university were given money they could either gift to themselves or to another, and the same result came up: they were happier giving to others.
A great way to give this holiday season is to ask to donate $50 to charity for Christmas instead of receiving a gift. I recommend charities like the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to kids with life-threatening illnesses, Doctors Without Borders (USA), which delivers medical aid to those in need around the world, and Feed the Children, which is working toward ending childhood hunger.
What do you think?
Hello there fellow wanderlusters! It's Day 2 of the 12 Days of Blogmas, and today's topic is Giving vs. Receiving! :) It's going to be a tad short, though ...
Giving. It could be something as simple as donating $10 to UNICEF, volunteering at a homeless shelter (which I did last year), or donating old clothes. It's easy to focus on our wants. It's easy to ask for new iPhones, but really put that into perspective - 22,000 kids die each day just from poverty, and you're whining for a smartphone?
And in a way, giving IS receiving. You get that happy, I'm-making-the-world-a-better-place kind of feeling, which is insurmountable. Knowing that you've helped someone who needs it really puts a smile on your face. Remember that giving doesn't have to be material, or to the underprivileged; it can just be smiling at the new kid or really listening to your friend when she needs a shoulder to lean on.
But what about receiving? Sure, if you get that new sweater you've been asking for, you'll be happy for a few months. But then you'll accidentally splatter paint on your sweater, or make a huge hole in it, and it'll end up wadded in a ball under your bed, that old ugly sweater you don't want anymore. But if you give something to people who need it, it can't wear out. The feeling of giving can't wear out. And that's exactly why.
I even read this article from Psychology Today, which scientifically proves that it is, indeed, better to give than to receive. A social psychologist surveyed 600 US citizens who showed greater happiness when spending money on others rather than themselves. In another Canadian experiment, students at a university were given money they could either gift to themselves or to another, and the same result came up: they were happier giving to others.
A great way to give this holiday season is to ask to donate $50 to charity for Christmas instead of receiving a gift. I recommend charities like the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to kids with life-threatening illnesses, Doctors Without Borders (USA), which delivers medical aid to those in need around the world, and Feed the Children, which is working toward ending childhood hunger.
What do you think?
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