Do you expect anything in return for helping others? In our new book, The Super-Helper Syndrome: A Survival Guide for Compassionate People, we highlight the many benefits of helping – to the helper themselves.
People who help others feel guilty for getting anything in return.
Why? Because compassionate people seem to believe that they should not expect anything in return. They believe they should help others purely because they are a good person, and as such, it would be wrong to want recognition or gratitude.
But this belief is utterly ridiculous. Sorry, but I have to call this out! You wouldn’t begrudge a friend for not getting anything in return for helping someone, so why would you deny this for yourself?
‘WHEN WE CARE FOR OTHERS, IT CHANGES OUR BIOCHEMISTRY, ACTIVATING SYSTEMS OF THE BRAIN THAT PRODUCE FEELINGS OF HOPE AND COURAGE.’
K. MCGONIGAL, HEALTH PSYCHOLOGIST, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Regardless of how much appreciation you get from others, you naturally benefit anyway.
Helping others helps you . . .
- Make better judgements
- Enjoy a warm glow
- Reduce stress
- Reduce anxiety
- Live longer
- Feel hopeful
- Build courage
- Bring motivation
- Increase energy
- Feel euphoric
- Boost self-worth
You can find a whole chapter on the benefits of helping in the book – specifically in the chapter The Healthy Helper.
If you are, or know, a natural helper, then you might be interested in my new book, The Super-Helper Syndrome: A Survival Guide for Compassionate People. Find out more about it here jessbaker.co.uk/shsbookclub or search Super-Helper Syndrome online for all the articles and reviews that others have written about it.
