Generosity comes in multiple forms, defined by the University of Notre Dame’s Science of Generosity Project as “the virtue of giving good things to others freely and abundantly… What exactly generosity gives can be various things: money, possessions, time, attention, aid, encouragement, emotional availability, and more.” It’s a concept that can have a very positive impact on our overall well-being.
“There is an extensive and growing body of evidence suggesting that acts of generosity are associated with reduced psychological problems and greater subjective well-being, which is a person’s emotional and cognitive sense of the quality of their life,” according to the Greater Good Science Center’s The Science of Generosity white paper.
Providing social support through time, effort or things is associated with better overall health among older adults, while volunteering is associated with delayed mortality. We’re a species biologically wired for generosity, reported the white paper.
