What's the best way to both do good and feel good? Giving to others.
Do you love shopping? Is retail therapy your go-to solution? If so, then change a bad habit into a healthy one. Start shopping for others!
Shopping for others still satisfies your need to shop. But instead of piling up unneeded clothes and accessories in the back of your closet, give yourself a helper's high.
If you're looking for a healthy way to shop, then keep reading. And learn about the benefits of giving to others.
Boosts Positivity
Giving to others makes you feel just as happy as it makes them. And buying for others can actually make you happier than spending money on yourself. It feels good to give.
And it really feels good when you know that you're helping someone in need. When this event takes place, your brain begins to activate sensations of pleasure, happiness, and a warmth of heart.
With conscious shopping, you can not only purchase a unique item for someone who would love it but you also help global artisans and farmers. Purchasing Fair Trade gifts ensures that your money is going towards a great cause. And you can feel confident in your gift that no forced or child labor was used to make it, good working conditions were provided, and fair pay was given.
Improves Your Health
Being generous improves our health. And it improves health even more so for the elderly. Volunteering or becoming a member of an organization that gives to the community helps elderly people feel like they are needed. It gives them a deeper purpose to get up and keep going every day. No matter what your age, giving back not only feels good, it does a body good.
Studies have shown that those who give to others also have lower blood pressure than those who don't. Giving to others reduces stress and brings a sense of calm. And with so many health issues connected to high-stress levels, helping others significantly increases good health.
You can even give back to others by what you choose to buy! Fair Trade organizations are devoted to sourcing their products from artisans who make handcrafted products that preserve their culture. And in return, these global artisans are given proper pay and opportunities for professional development.
Purchasing from Fair Trade organizations gives the gift of empowerment to people in developing nations, helping them uplift themselves and their communities. Simply conscious shopping for Fair Trade items is a great way to support fairness and equality globally.
And knowing that you're making a difference then can reduce blood pressure and stress!
Builds Social Connections
One way to promote inner joy is by interacting with positive experiences. If you have daily positive social interactions it leads to a good state of mind, and it builds a connection to the community.
Whether you've joined a local organization or have decided to give back in your own ways, you're bound to expand your horizons of good and new experiences.
Becoming a part of the Fair Trade movement that gives back with each purchase and help developing artisans around the globe. Through each purchase you'll also feel connected to their culture, traditions, and way of life. Do good and feel connections globally!
Promotes Contagious Behavior
When you do an act of kindness towards someone, it becomes contagious. Have you ever heard of the saying, "pay it forward?" Chances are that if you do something nice for someone, then they will return the favor by doing something nice for someone else.
When we give, we know that the person receiving can't always give to us in return. And we shouldn't expect it. Why?
Well, because that's not what giving is about. The act of giving or helping someone us is our reward! And if later down the line they can help someone else out in need, then you've helped more people than you probably realized.
But don't worry. Good karma is in the air. When you put out good energy into the world around you, you get that good energy back.
And when you shop consciously, you give back by providing fair-paying sustainable careers for global farmers and artisans. So not only do you get an amazing product that was handmade, but you're giving the makers the opportunity to make drastic improvements to their livelihood.
Your conscious shopping and the energy it gives out will do leaps and bounds for you and others.
Enhances Self Worth
Helping others no matter how you chose to do it is a selfless decision. You do it consciously knowing that you won't receive any materialistic item in return. You do it for the simple reason of helping someone else in some capacity.
Whether volunteering, donating or making conscious shopping choices it unknowingly creates a sense of self-worth. You are important, the community needs you, and you made a difference.
There are many people who cannot provide for themselves or their families who appreciate your help more than you know. The next time you have a friend or family member's birthday coming up, consider shopping consciously by purchasing from Fair Trade. They would love the idea of having a gift that is drenched in culture, individualism, and craftsmanship and gave back to hands who crafted it.
Through some research and learning about social enterprises and companies that give back, you can find gifts that provide jobs and careers in developing nations, are made sustainably, recycle and so much more. This way, your purchase for your loved one will be that more special and while doing extra good.
Shows You That You Can Make A Difference
We've seen the commercials and heard the radio ads for different organizations or groups about how we need to be the change we want to see in the world. And how every dime or helping hand counts. But can we really make a difference?
You can sign up monthly donations towards a charity, purchase consciously, or volunteer for your favorite cause. Any action makes a larger difference than you can imagine. You have the power to make a change in the local and global community.
You don't have to make drastic changes in your shopping to make an impact either. Simply by buying a gift for a special occasion, just as you would normally, but buy from organizations who use your money to provide a better life for the people who made the product that you're buying in impactful.
Sharing that your purchase is giving back to others is a great way to be a role model in how we all can all make a difference. Every purchase counts towards making the world a better place!
Live A Healthy Life By Giving To Others
Giving to others is a simple way to promote additional joy and happiness in your life while spreading it to others. So get off your couch and start giving back in the ways that suit you best. Now with even conscious shopping as a way to make a difference, your options abound. Enjoy doing good, and bring happiness, warmth, and positivity to your heart and to others.
And for tips on how your shopping can make a difference, visit our blog!