Happiness Golden Rule: Share the Joy of Helping Others
The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. ~Benjamin Disraeli
The feeling of helping someone is a very joyful experience.
But probably the best feeling of all is not when you give something concrete, like an object or money (that’s not exactly the point with this article) but when you make the other person feel good about herself with what she already has, or with what she already is.
People are generally very insecure. About their work, their relationships, about themselves. People are also very needy. We need attention, we need to feel secure and we need reassurance that we are doing things right. We also need to feel that we have a meaning, a purpose in life. We need to feel useful. So, in everything we do we like to have acceptance, to be recognized by our peers, to be reassured that we are correct. Ultimately we need to feel that we are important. If you think it for a while these feelings of being important and of being useful are really what everybody wants from life.
So, there’s nothing that will make people happier then to help them solve a problem, dissipate a doubt they have or simply tell them they’re right! Of course that this cannot work if you’re acting falsely or being phony. We are excellent at detecting when someone is just pretending to be friendly. It must be unconditional help, genuine praise. It must come from the heart. It’s kind of what love is actually.
What comes out from this share, between someone who helps and someone who needs helping is a kind of magic. When we help someone and make that person feel good about herself, and by doing that we make a bond with that. The person that receives our help gets the approval, the confirmation that she is important, that she is doing things right. The person that gives, that helps, receives the gratification from that person and gets a feeling of being useful.
So, next time someone asks for your opinion on something, or for your help solving some problem that’s because that person trusts you and needs you. So, dedicate some of your time to help that person, give her your feedback, put your skills at her disposal, make an effort to genuinely help her solve her problem, and then … experience the joy of feeling useful.
This is the power and the joy of helping others.
Read related articles:
- A Definition of Happiness
- The Maslow Hierarchy of Needs Theory and its relation to Pleasure, Happiness, Joy and Fullfillment
- Surround Yourself with People That Are Like You
- Happiness Golden Rule: The Flow – The Place Where You Want To Be
- Reduce Stress at Work and Life with Organization