WEBVTT - Giving feels good 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that giving feels good. If you are

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<v Speaker 1>attempting to buy happiness, spending money on others is a

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<v Speaker 1>very efficient way to do it. If you've recently found

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<v Speaker 1>yourself itching for tangible ways to help others, you're certainly

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<v Speaker 1>not alone. The horrible human toll of the COVID nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>pandemic and the economic fallout, along with recent events drawing

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<v Speaker 1>attention to widespread inequality, have prompted many to want to

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<v Speaker 1>give back to their communities. Fortunately, this itch is one

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<v Speaker 1>you won't regret scratching. Helping others is always a good

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<v Speaker 1>thing to do, and it's also one of the best

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<v Speaker 1>ways to make you feel better about life. In general.

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<v Speaker 1>Research has found that people in every part of the

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<v Speaker 1>world experience an emotional benefit from spending money to help others,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes referred to as pro social spending. In fact, this

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<v Speaker 1>effect is thought to be one of the very few

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<v Speaker 1>known psychological universals shared by humans worldwide. For example, in

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<v Speaker 1>one study, people who recently made donations reported experiencing higher

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<v Speaker 1>levels of life satisfaction than those who had. This effect

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<v Speaker 1>is seen across income groups, and you don't have to

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<v Speaker 1>spend a lot of money to get this emotional kickback either.

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<v Speaker 1>Another study showed that spending just five dollars on others

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<v Speaker 1>can lead to a measurable increase in the giver's reported happiness.

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<v Speaker 1>Spending to help others has been shown to have a

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<v Speaker 1>greater impact on happiness compared to spending on ourselves. Humans

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<v Speaker 1>are social creatures, and gift giving has long been a

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<v Speaker 1>form of cementing alliances. If you buy yourself coffee, that's

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<v Speaker 1>the end of it. If you treat your friend to coffee,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll probably spend time together enjoying the coffee, and then

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<v Speaker 1>she may treat you in return, which doubles the fun.

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<v Speaker 1>The same emotional benefit happens when we spend on others

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<v Speaker 1>by investing to improve our communities. Some research suggests that

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<v Speaker 1>pro social spending provides the greatest emotional benefit when it

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<v Speaker 1>helps us connect with others, when we can see the

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<v Speaker 1>impact of our giving, and when we feel like we

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<v Speaker 1>have the ability to freely choose when and how we give.

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<v Speaker 1>This may be one reason that people give most generously

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<v Speaker 1>to their own houses of worship. God may command it,

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<v Speaker 1>but you're also there a lot seeing what your money

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<v Speaker 1>is doing, and it helps you feel connected to your

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<v Speaker 1>fellow worshippers. It's also why people tend to feel better

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<v Speaker 1>about giving to organizations where they volunteer as well. Pro

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<v Speaker 1>social spending can take a variety of different shapes, so

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<v Speaker 1>don't feel like you have to box yourself into only

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<v Speaker 1>one form of it. For example, perhaps one week you'll

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<v Speaker 1>decide to spend half an hour choosing the perfect graduation

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<v Speaker 1>gift for your niece and her friends that you've gotten

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<v Speaker 1>to know over the years. The next week, you anonymously

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<v Speaker 1>leave gift cards for a neighbor who's going through a

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<v Speaker 1>rough time. The next week, you choose to donate to

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<v Speaker 1>a food bank because you saw a longer line than

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<v Speaker 1>usual as you drove past. If you have the financial

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<v Speaker 1>resources to do so, making a regular monthly donation to

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<v Speaker 1>a small number of causes you care about is great,

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<v Speaker 1>but make sure you don't treat this as a set

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<v Speaker 1>it and forget it solution. You want to pause each

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<v Speaker 1>month as you give to feel grateful that you have

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<v Speaker 1>the resources to do so. There's a lot to worry

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<v Speaker 1>about in the world, but taking small steps to make

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<v Speaker 1>things better not only helps make things better, it makes

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<v Speaker 1>us feel more empowered rather than helpless, and as we

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<v Speaker 1>feel that way, we start to see bigger challenges that

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<v Speaker 1>we can take on. Happiness isn't a zero sum game.

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<v Speaker 1>There are myriad reason is to give other than emotional satisfaction.

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<v Speaker 1>But we shouldn't view this emotional satisfaction as an embarrassing

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<v Speaker 1>or trivial side effect, like how dare I feel happy

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<v Speaker 1>when people are suffering? The fact that we feel happier

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<v Speaker 1>when we do something to help the suffering is why

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<v Speaker 1>people keep doing it. It makes us feel progress is

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<v Speaker 1>possible and change only happens when enough people feel that way.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four then breakfast p O D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeartMedia dot com That Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much. I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to Staying in Touch Before Breakfast is a production

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