Nothing characterizes the Christmas season like generosity of us to each other. Gift giving has been an important part of Christmas ever since the Three Wise Men presented their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But sometimes it can seem like receiving gifts is the main point of the holiday.
We’ve all heard it’s more blessed to give than to receive. Probably like you, I take that on faith. But it’s fun to see all the ways science now supports the idea that special benefits come from giving, not just receiving.
Like expressing gratitude, there is a lot of research that generosity enhances the life of the giver. Here are three big ways generosity improves our lives:
Generosity makes us happy. Giving our time and money to others gives us an emotional boost. Why? According to researcher Christian Smith it’s because feeling good is a product of doing good. It’s built into our neurochemistry. And it’s true across cultural and economic lines, too, according to a Harvard Business School study. It’s just part of being human.
Generosity improves our relationships. In a study of generosity and its effect in marriage, researchers found that the recipient of generosity expressed high levels of marital satisfaction, but so did the giver.
Generosity lowers stress. This example might be a stretch, but one study I read found that being stingy might actually raise our stress levels.
After hooking people up to heart monitors, researchers found that when they felt they were giving too little in a transaction it actually drove up their stress levels. Being generous, on the other hand, kept stress down. It’s like the Golden Rule in action.
None of these studies are directly about Christmas, of course, but I think there’s an important connection. It turns out that thinking about God can lead us to be more generous. Two related studies show this. And Christmas is a natural time of year to turn our minds this direction.
But we can’t leave it there. If we want the full positive effect of generosity, we have to make it a lifestyle.
Generosity has to be a practice. The empirical evidence was very clear. Nothing we tested where you just do it one time has an effect. But all the things that you have to sustain over time have that effect. The habit of generosity is the key. It’s a lifestyle, and there’s no better time of year than Christmas to begin giving that gift to others (and ourselves).
How have you benefited in your life from being generous?
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