Over the next few days, I’d like to discuss happiness and giving back.

Even though there are many ways to achieve a sense of “happiness” in our lives, nothing seems to bring more joy than giving back to others.  Why does giving to others make you feel happier?

• You minimize your own situation, circumstances, and troubles

It’s so easy to get caught up in our own “bubble” of life and not see what’s going on outside of it.  Quite often putting the focus on helping others puts your own situation, circumstances and troubles into perspective.  By nature we tend to magnify our own problems and think they’re much worse than they really are – but encountering someone who is experiencing even greater challenges sure changes that outlook quickly!

I’m not saying that your own struggles vanish just because you see someone less fortunate than you, but rather you gain a bit more perspective and realize that your struggles could be much worse than they are.