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Pay it forward: Buy your happiness with good deeds

13th Jul 2016
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You’ve heard it time and time again: money can’t buy happiness. But according to Michael Norton, a social science researcher at Harvard Business School, if you think money doesn’t buy happiness, you’re simply not spending it right.

Norton carried out a series of social experiments to find out how happy people could be by either spending money on themselves or on other people. And guess what? It turns out that spending money on others makes us happier, while spending on ourselves doesn’t affect our happiness one way or another.

In one experiment, Canadian college students were given envelopes containing money. Some were told to spend the money on themselves, while others were told to spend it on other people. The students were asked to describe how happy they felt at the start of the experiment and again at the end; those who had spent the money on other people claimed they were happier at the end of the experiment, while the students who splashed out on themselves were no more or less happy than they’d been in the beginning.

This idea isn’t new. In fact, we already know there’s an association between happiness and donating money to charity. So perhaps Norton is right. If spending money on yourself isn’t making you happy, then try spending it on someone else. 

Global movement

Author Catherine Ryan Hyde’s 1999 novel, Pay It Forward is about a young boy who does 3 good deeds for people in need. All he asked in return was that they should do a good deed for 3 other people, who then helped 3 more – and so on. Not only did the novel inspire the Hollywood movie of the same name, it also started a global Pay it Forward movement.

75 countries took part in the event in 2015. Here in the UK, we’ve been celebrating Pay it Forward Day for several years. During that time those taking part have encouraged people to perform random acts of kindness to 3 or more people and asked them to do the same, without anyone expecting anything in return.

Why not join?

There are lots of good deeds you could do for others. You could, for instance:

  • Donate some money to your favourite charity by arranging a fundraising initiative with your work colleagues, friends and family members
  • Buy coffee for the person behind you in the queue at your local coffee shop
  • Pay for someone’s parking/bus/train ticket
  • Donate non-perishable foods to a local shelter or refuge
  • Offer to do some free professional work for someone who can’t afford your services

True stories

There are examples from around the world of how one act of generosity can be infectious. In Florida, for example, one woman paying for an iced coffee in her local Starbucks as well as the caramel macchiato for the person behind her sparked a paying-it-forward chain that lasted 11 hours. Altogether 379 people paid for the next person’s drink.

And in Philadelphia, one pizza shop owner allows customers to pre-pay for a slice of pizza to be given to a homeless person. They simply pay for a $1 slice when they pay for their meal, and leave a Post-it note on the wall. When a homeless person needs something to eat, they can take one of the Post-it notes and redeem it for a slice of pizza.

But it’s not just about money. The act of doing things for other people without spending money is thought to boost happiness too. So give your umbrella to someone who’s getting wet in the rain, invite an elderly neighbour round for dinner, donate unwanted clothes and books to a charity shop or offer to mentor a junior member of staff at your office who needs support. Just remember to mention they can return the favour by doing something positive for someone else too.

It might not seem like much, but just one small good deed could start a chain of generosity and kindness. How happy that would make you feel?

Find out more about Pay it Forward Day in the UK by visiting payitforwardday.co.uk. Meanwhile, doing things for others is the first of Action for Happiness’ campaign, 10 keys to happier living. Helping others isn’t just good for those you help, it can make you happier and healthier too. 

For advice and information call +44 (0) 1788 556 366 or chat to an advisor online 24 hours a day.

 

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