What notions does the word volunteering evoke in your mind? A laborious venture? Willing subjecting yourself to an otherwise avoidable arduous process? To give back to community? To reap the benefits of charity? What if you were told that the act of volunteering is nothing of what you perceive it to be and it benefits the one serving far more than the one being served? It would be simply unbelievable for you, wouldn’t it? Well, here is some incredible information about volunteering and some of its most surprising benefits.
Volunteering; Where does it stem from and what are its benefits?
The roots of the act of volunteering lie in two of the greatest virtues of gratitude and service. Today, there is ample research to show that cultivating the feeling of gratitude in your mind is conducive to greater health, and bequeaths you with happiness and wisdom. The feeling to give back to community is associated with gratitude while the selfless urge to help the people in need is associated with service. Apart from the many benefits of charity, volunteering entails some other very surprising benefits too. Let’s see what they are.
- Develop new skills – As a volunteer for a cause, you are tasked with responsibilities that help you acquire new skills and add value to your skill set. It may help you advance in your career, and may be of importance in other aspects of life.
- Connect with others – As part of a community, volunteering helps you connect and associate with people in your community. On the societal level, this will help make your community a better place in the long run. On an individual level, it will help you acquire new friends, liaison with people, expand your networks, and boost your social skills.
- Bodily health – As per a report by the Corporation for National & Community Service, research has pointed to the fact that volunteering can help achieve better health. The research shows that anyone who volunteers achieves greater functional ability and has a lower mortality rate.
- Mental health – Volunteering has a profound effect on one’s psychological well-being. From relieving stress to lowering anxiety and anger, volunteering greatly ameliorates your mental health.
- Fulfilment – In the mundane, materialistic, and vague life that we have chosen to live nowadays, volunteering can lend you a sense of purpose. The more you involve yourself in volunteering, the greater the sense of fulfilment in life and the greater the satisfaction.
- Get more of what you spend – We often see people crib about the dearth of time and non-accomplishment of their goals. In volunteering, things are often counterintuitive. so that one who volunteers his time inherently starts to feel like he has more of it. Devoting your time to serving others can help you feel more time affluent.
Life-changing experience
Although seemingly unimportant and menial, the act of volunteering can be a life-transforming experience wherein the volunteer will not only add value to his life and personality but will also feel more in tune with the purpose of life.
