Altruism
Kathy Mangan
The road to optimal well-being can be a crooked path. A second set of eyes can be just the ticket to identify the obstacles we put in our own path. I love working with people who are ready for their "next"!
Just the other day, a friend of mine and I were talking about altruism and how good helping other people, even if we don't know them, feels.? The conversation got me thinking more about that whole idea.
Turns out, it is thought that the practice of helping others may have some evolutionary benefit in that it has helped the species survive.? Brain research also suggests that when we behave in an altruistic manner, pleasure and reward centers are activated.? All of this intuitively makes sense to me.
Putting all of this together got me thinking that there might be a "selfish" motivation for helping others.? On the surface, that thought was distressing to me.? I didn't want to think that in serving others, I was also serving myself.?
Sorting through my mixed feelings about this, I have come to realize that the process of being aware of this paradox might really be what matters.? It is part of acknowledging that we are all interconnected.? When I can relax into that understanding, I can feel less "guilty" about why I do for others what I do.? I can realize that I am contributing, even in a small way, to the larger good.
So, how will YOU help someone today.? The reward is built into the doing!