Giving isn’t just good for others – it's good for you too
Bottom Line: Think of the most unhappy person you know. How charitable are they? Now think about the happiest person you know. How charitable are they? It paints a pretty quick picture, right? Working off of that theme... We know those who are happiest live longest, correct (recently I shared research that optimists live an average of 12 years longer than pessimists)? So logically those who are the most stingy are more inclined towards negativity/pessimism while those who are generous are generally positive/optimistic. And that’s what we see coming together in a just concluded study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
The study found those who donated the most with others live the longest on average. In the study, those most giving and thus living the longest were found in France and Japan. The two countries least giving studied were those in China and Turkey. In the study the difference in mortality rates at various points in life was consistently 50% lower for those most giving compared to those least generous. The more you know and perhaps the more you can give... There’s something biblical that comes to mind with this story.