ALTRUISM

Feeling happy?  Maybe it's because

you've made someone's day.

Altruism is a powerful happiness tool.
When we give to others, we feel better
about ourselves.  We know this, and yet
it's surprising how often we stray from
this basic wisdom.

In Dan Baker's terrific book, "What
Happy People Know:  How the New
Science of Happiness Can Change
Your Life for the Better," he
talks about happiness traps and
the tools happy folks use daily to
get those joy juices flowing in the brain.

Baker is a fan of leaving the past in
the past and focusing on the present
to help you rise above your mood,
your circumstances and your habitual
patterns.

See why I love him?  He's all about
seizing the moment in order to feel
calm, clear and creative.

In fact, he ends his book with a call for
greater attention to the present moment.
Here's the very last sentence, on page
259:  "This is happiness--this moment,
this now--this being alive."

That says it all.

And this focus on now is precisely why
altruism is such a tremendous happiness
booster--we can always make choices to
do some small thing for someone else,
and it will always elevate us from our
temporary funk.

I'm not talking about writing a fat check
to your favorite charity on December 31st
of every year--though that's still a good
thing.  Instead, we need to think of
altruism in a bigger way.  And of course,
making it fun means we're more likely to
do it.

If you're looking for a way to boost
your own happiness, look for creative
ways to make someone else's day.
You can start with simple stuff, like
letting someone with one item into
the grocery check-out line in front of you.
You might help someone with a
heavy door, a dropped book, a spilled
coffee, a flat tire.

But go deeper.  Look for ways to surprise
someone with kindness. Make it a game
you play in which everyone wins.

Baker sites research in his book about how
altruism affects the brain, but the truth is
that you already know it makes you feel
good to do nice things for others. Trust
that, and look for ways to have fun with
it.

Happy people know that altruism and
appreciation (giving love without
expecting anything in return) make
them feel confident, kind, connected,
and fulfilled. Good news: we can use
the present moment to stir up both
altruism and appreciation at the same
time.

You know what I love most about
Dan Baker's book on happiness?  It's
that this book was sent to me by my
friend Wilson, who registered it at
www.bookcrossing.com

This means that it's all ready for me
to pass it along as a surprise gift for
someone else. I will simply leave it
here in Mazatlan, and someone else
will pick it up, read it, log on to let me
and the world know that they found it,
and then leave it somewhere for someone
else to find.

I received the book (Wilson's act of
altruism) and felt so appreciative. I'll
give it to someone else, and this will
keep that cycle going, and going,
and going....

That's the kind of fun altruism I'm
talking about. It's like stealth giving.
Secret, with a smile.

Look for ways to pump joy juices
into your brain through stealth
giving.  Give secret gifts, offer
anonymous good deeds, and
grin your way through the day.


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If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is: Infinite. - William Blake