Our everyday life has been complicated in some aspects by technological progress and the institutionalization of social life. The crisis of social bonds is caused by the change in which relationships in the modern world, created through the exchange of gifts, are based on trade exchange focused on efficiency. These types of relationships create a culture in which help is a commodity. Cultural change, primarily in the area of interpersonal relations, has resulted in an emphasis on material goods, which has resulted in the devaluation of man's spiritual life. Modern people are increasingly looking for psychological support. The indicated dimension of help is extremely important because it counteracts the feeling of loneliness and pointlessness of the efforts undertaken or the suffering felt. That's why it's so important to help others, and also yourself. So by doing something for others, what do we gain ourselves?
Dr. Eric Kim, in his research published in 2020, looked at almost 13,000 people over 50 years of age over a 4-year period and compared two groups: volunteers working more than 100 hours a year and people who do not participate in such activities at all. It was shown that people from the first group, i.e. volunteers, experienced greater optimism and a sense of higher purpose in life, but less loneliness and symptoms of low mood over the course of a year. Moreover, thanks to the increased probability of regular physical activity by 12%, the risk of physical limitations decreased by 17%, which also resulted in a higher overall assessment of one's health, and the risk of death decreased by as much as 44%!
We can help for our own benefit, and it is not only about instrumental and calculated helping. Helping people in need can be a source of satisfaction and happiness. First of all, it is a good use of free time. It gives joy, satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment. Often, when we see other people's difficulties, we start to look at our own problems differently, we gain a broader perspective and distance from our own situation. We learn to observe the lives of others and notice things that we would not have noticed before, and at the same time also notice how much we have already achieved in life.
This gives us a basis to practice gratitude for all that we have achieved.
Helping others is one of the ways we build, maintain and strengthen our extremely important relationships with other people. By helping others and creating a group, we also create a sense of belonging to it. Healthy self-esteem is very important in all relationships. By helping, we can permanently increase our self-esteem - for example by acting for others, we feel needed, significant and strong, because we can influence the fate of other people and make the world a better place and make us a role model for those around us. In addition, we also support our personal development, focus on being better and see more goodness around us. If you can't find your benefits or they are different than those indicated in the article - it doesn't matter. Do you feel it gives you something special or are you just happy to support others? Just help, because that's the most important thing.
