Your Overall Health and Joy are Boosted
"There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up." —Bernard Meltzer
When you're generous, we're generous to yourself. Your entire being undergoes a feel-good transformation at the cellular level when you support others, which boosts everything from your psychological outlook to heart and immune system. Instead of despairing about the world, you're embracing it wholeheartedly, taking on tough challenges to try to transform them with goodwill and optimism. You're also choosing to be "other centered," which streams wellbeing back to yourself.
Service is simply, powerful medicine. Research shows that teenagers who get turned on by service learning and volunteer work are much happier and more optimistic. They also get better grades and use drugs less. Volunteering even helps you live longer, according to University of California–Los Angeles researchers.