Tag: contentment

Giving is good for your health!

Giving is good for your health!

Emotional and mental health are important.  Very important.  Sometimes these two components of health take the back burner to social and physical health.  We might focus on our social media relationships, comments, and statuses.  Stuff that in the scheme of things won’t matter when we look back on life.  I am even guilty of this sometimes.

I actually have someone in my family that struggles with finding a balance between her emotional and mental health versus her social and physical health.  She struggles with finding happiness, being self-confident on the inside, and feeling a sense of contentment.  She chooses to focus on her social and physical health as a way of combating the struggles she faces with her emotional and mental health.  She walks daily and puts effort into how she presents herself to others, but in reality it doesn’t fix how she feels about herself.  She is missing a sense of self-purpose in life.  She struggles with identifying meaning by the roles in which she chooses to play in society.

Giving may not seem like it has to do with emotional or mental health.  It may seem like a big stretch, but it actually isn’t a stretch at all.  Giving provides purpose to a person’s life.  It gives meaning.  It is a reminder to be appreciative for what we have.  It feels good to give to others.  It gives you that warm and happy feeling on the inside knowing you contributed to a good cause, helped someone that is struggling, baked cookies for your local police department, or helped a stranger on your way to work.   The feeling you have from doing those things contributes to your emotional and mental health.

You do not need tons of money to give.  Giving can come from the heart.  It can be coloring a picture for someone, writing a “Thank You” card, volunteering with a local organization, helping someone into their car, or a multitude of other ways to be kind and give back.  I work at an elementary school where I am given pictures and coloring pages almost every single day.  While students love to give me pictures and have a huge smile as they hand me their masterpiece I feel equally as blessed.  It warms my heart that they want to give me pictures that they work so hard on.  It is a reciprocation of mental and emotional health.  It makes them feel good and me as well.

In a world full of consumerism and materialism, I challenge you to remember to give (year round)!  Just because the holidays have passed and it is a new year doesn’t mean all your time has to focus on New Years weight loss resolutions or bikini bodies for spring break.  It is still important to smile at strangers, say hi to people you pass in the hallway, or compliment someone.  I challenge you to increase your purpose and role in the world.  I challenge you to remember what giving will do for your emotional and mental health.

I hope this blog, as short as it is, captures how much giving can do for you and the world.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

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