The Benefits of Giving

Thank you to our guest blogger for January, a Seniorly Contributor!

The benefits of giving are numerous.  It has been scientifically proven to decrease depression, improve longevity, and foster social connections that can lead to better quality of life.  No matter how little you have to give, even a few dollars can make a huge difference in the lives of people in need. 

Discover the top ways that volunteering can benefit you and others:

Improving Mood

One of the major ways that giving impacts your mood is by fostering gratitude in your life.  In fact, “Barbara Fredrickson, a pioneering happiness researcher, suggests that cultivating gratitude in everyday life is one of the keys to increasing personal happiness.”  In her book Positivity, she writes that “When you express your gratitude in words or actions, you not only boost your own positivity but [other people’s] as well.”  So it’s really no wonder that you feel better and more motivated after volunteering.  The energy you put out into the world is reciprocated, leaving you feeling refreshed and grateful for all of the wonderful things you have.

Improving Health

Giving has also been proven to increase your overall quality of life.  According to good sources, “A wide range of research has linked different forms of generosity to better health, even among the sick and elderly.”  This season, consider making volunteering a family event, and get grandparents and grandchildren involved in activities that make a difference.  Volunteering may help aging relatives remain healthier for longer.  “A 1999 study led by Doug Oman of the University of California, Berkeley, found that elderly people who volunteered for two or more organizations were 44 percent less likely to die over a five-year period than were non-volunteers.”  If longevity isn’t a great reason to volunteer this season, I don’t know what is!  Get out there and give back to the community in some tangible way.

Social Connections

Last but not least, giving has been proven to foster social connections that are beneficial to all parties involved.  Whether you are serving food at a local soup kitchen or cleaning up a park with fellow volunteers, “These exchanges promote a sense of trust and cooperation that strengthens our ties to others—and research has shown that having positive social interactions is central to good mental and physical health.”  Elderly isolation can be a major concern, and volunteering can relieve this by sparking friendships that help elders feel more socially connected.

What’s more, giving can improve our opinions of others and coincidentally make us feel better about ourselves.  “When we give to others, we don’t only make them feel closer to us; we also feel closer to them.”  Writer Sonja Lyubomirsky writes in her book The How of Happiness, “Being kind and generous leads you to perceive others more positively and more charitably.”  This creates a positive feedback loop, in which the volunteering community supports one another and perceives everyone in their best light.

So take some time to give back to your community.  Chances are, it will not only spread love to those in need, but also improve your overall quality of life and lead to better health down the road.

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What Makes a Woman Beautiful?

When I started my business years ago I simply sought to offer women something I had been in search of myself…painless aging!  I could not have imagined at the time, the doors that would be opened to me by hundreds of women willing to open their hearts and share their stories.  Stories of tragedy, triumph, joy, sorrow.  All the things that weave our lives into the complex and beautiful stories of who we each are.  In the hundreds of emails I have received, I have witnessed “beauty” in so many forms, and it has been both heartwarming and inspiring.  It got me to thinking, what is it that makes a woman beautiful?  As I talk to all of these women I am instantly captivated by their beauty, and yet most I have never seen!

I recently had a wonderful lunch with a childhood friend who I have known for over 50 years.  We do not see each other as often as we wish, but when we do it’s as if it was yesterday.  We chat about the things that most women our age do, and it is space in time that is filled with laughter and memories.  After lunch, I was telling my daughter that my friend has not changed in all these years.  She wanted to know how that was possible?!  And it dawned on me…that while physically she is as beautiful to me now as she was when we were children, her smile, warmth, and elegance have truly remained timeless.

I was curious about what other people thought on the topic so I posed the question on Facebook.  Dozens of people, men and women, responded.  The replies were both honest and encouraging.  Of course there were some of the usual remarks from the guys you might expect.  Hey, I knew I had opened the door!  But many were surprising and said they looked for “genuine smiles” and “warmth” as measures of beauty.

This particular response by a friend, Deborah, was very representative of what most said:  

"For the physical trait I like to see people with "smiley eyes".  The inner characteristic that I find beautiful is warmth.  These are the people that just make you feel happy being around them.  They make you feel as if you matter to them. Funny, I immediately liked you when we emailed because of that...”

Her response summed up what I have found in my childhood friend – really beautiful women are those that make you feel joy, simply by being around them.  They make you feel as if you matter.

I have been blessed with so many lovely people in my life, those that I can honestly confide in and who I love deeply.  Friends and family who let me know I am as important in their life as they are in mine.  Even if time or distance keeps us apart.  When I look into their eyes, I see and feel something that goes beyond physical beauty.

While make-up can do magical things, genuine “Beauty” is not about physical appearances.  It is how we live and who we have become.  From our greatest challenges to our most joyful moments.  And it is in the confidence, strength, and warmth that we bestow upon others which makes us GORGEOUS!

Now go be beautiful!!!