Imagine walking down the street to work and being approached by our student Lara Aknin, who hands you an envelope. You open the envelope and find $20 and a slip of paper, which tells you to spend the cash on something for yourself by the end of the day. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Now imagine instead that the slip of paper told you to spend the cash on someone else. Being generous is nice, sure, but would using the money to benefit someone else actually make you happier than buying yourself the belt, DVD or apps you’ve been dying to get?
Yes, and it’s not even close. When we follow up with people who receive cash from us, those whom we told to spend on others report greater happiness than those told to spend on themselves.
Read full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/opinion/sunday/dont-indulge-be-happy.html?src=me&ref=general
This afternoon I was sitting in a room at the city hall, awaiting my turn to ask about a document a relative needed. A Chassidic woman approached me and asked me if I speak Yiddish. She then told me that she was missing a small amount of money for an official governmental card and could I possibly lend it to her. After I gave her the money, she asked me where I lived so that she could come and repay me. When she heard that I lived at the other end of town, she asked whether she could put the money in a tzedakah pushka, instead. When I nodded in the affirmative, she blessed me with "kol tuv." After she obtained the card, she made sure to stop by, once again, to thank me and to shower me with more blessings.
I can attest to what was written above in the NYT article. I sure was happy to use my money to benefit another person. And it felt great to be the recipient of a shower of blessings.
This afternoon I was sitting in a room at the city hall, awaiting my turn to ask about a document a relative needed. A Chassidic woman approached me and asked me if I speak Yiddish. She then told me that she was missing a small amount of money for an official governmental card and could I possibly lend it to her. After I gave her the money, she asked me where I lived so that she could come and repay me. When she heard that I lived at the other end of town, she asked whether she could put the money in a tzedakah pushka, instead. When I nodded in the affirmative, she blessed me with "kol tuv." After she obtained the card, she made sure to stop by, once again, to thank me and to shower me with more blessings.
I can attest to what was written above in the NYT article. I sure was happy to use my money to benefit another person. And it felt great to be the recipient of a shower of blessings.
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