27 Mar Shifting happiness from selfishness to selflessness – Tip 4
If you’ve been following this series so far, you’ll have learned (or have been reminded that) giving and selflessness brings with it many positive returns.
In giving, we receive so much that’s good for us.
But in a slightly different twist, giving also eliminates or at least reduces some negatives from life … like anxiety and depression and other unpleasant emotions.
Studies show that generosity lowers cortisol levels, which helps reduce stress and anxiety. Giving shifts focus away from personal worries, making us feel more content and balanced.
It’s normal, when we’re stressed, depressed or anxious to become somewhat self-focused. This is, in simple terms, “built into” those emotions and in some ways it can be helpful if we use those feelings and experiences to nurture and take care of ourselves.
But like everything in life, there are pros and cons; and a “con” or disadvantage is that we might ignore the many benefits we can gain from focusing more on others and on how good it is for use to think more about and do more for others.
Again, I’ll note, that selfishness and selflessness are not mutually exclusive; which means the goal here is to find the right balance for you, at any point in time.