Give Your Way to Better Health

​Check out this inspirational video my daughter's teacher shared with me.

Did you know that altruistic actions (giving, kindness, etc.) have been shown to have a positive effect on the health of the individuals who are performing the actions?  Arianna Huffington, in her book Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being (which I highly recommend), references a few findings including:

• A study found that participants whose happiness was mostly hedonic (i.e. focused on self-gratification) had high levels of biological markers that promote inflammation, which is in turn linked to diabetes, cancer and other conditions.  While those whose happiness included service to others had health profiles showing reduced levels of these markers.

Another study found that of individuals who participated in employee volunteer programs:

• 75% said they felt healthier
• 90% said they were in a better mood
• 75% reported experiencing less stress
• 95% said the experience enriched their sense of purpose in life (which, in turn, has been found to strengthen the immune function)

Is this a great deal or what?  Helping someone else out not only has benefits for the receiver, but also for the giver!

This week I encourage you to try it out.  Go out of your way at least once in the next seven days (or if you are really ambitious, once per day) to do something nice for someone else.  Then, after the task is complete, take a moment to pause and observe how it makes you feel.  Are you happier?  Do you have more energy?

Wishing you success in all aspects of life,
Tom Klisiewicz
Founder & President
Smart Health, Wellness, & Performance, Inc.