The Joy Of Giving Back
I love giving back.
Whether supporting my colleagues’ development, advising people on building sustainable businesses, or inspiring the next generation through career advice, there is a sense of joy in seeing others grow. And in my case, this is driven by helping my community.
Why is it important to give back to your community?
When you are giving back to society, you are bettering the lives of those around you. Your family & friends, the people in your community or the lives of people elsewhere in the world could feel the impact of what you do. And the joy it brings extends past those you help, as it benefits humans in several ways.
IMPROVES MENTAL HEALTH
When you help people, the brain releases oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine, or as some call ‘The Happiness Trifecta’. These hormones are linked to increased happiness and counteract the impact of stressors, such as cortisol, decreasing depression and other psychological distress.
IMPROVES PHYSICAL HEALTH
Supporting others is also good for your physical health, with studies linking it to a lower risk for hypertension and decreased mortality risk.
DEVELOPS NEW SKILLS
Growth is one of the fundamental human needs, and by helping others, you step out of your comfort zone and hone new skills. It might be learning to decorate, softer skills such as presenting, or even just simply meeting new people. Whatever it is, giving back allows you to grow.
CHANGES YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Helping others develops gratitude for what you have, allowing you to use it positively in the community. You can also experience the world through other people’s eyes, appreciate the challenges they face, and use this to develop solutions to problems you feel are insurmountable.
EXPANDS YOUR NETWORK
Whether they are business or personal goals, people need people to achieve them. By helping others, you can meet like-minded people who can help you too. You never know who you might meet, so every interaction is a networking opportunity. They might be your next big client, become a key supplier, or your next employee of the year.
And it is this final benefit I want to expand on. An increasing number of people are looking at a company’s environmental, social, and governance credentials (ESG) to see how advanced they are in sustainable community thinking. They are making personal choices on where they spend their money and professional decisions about who they want to work with and for. It is no longer just the corporate behemoths where ESG committees and annual report declarations are the norms.
If you run a small business, this presents an opportunity to get on the front foot and develop an ESG strategy that creates a point of difference over your competitors. And with large organisations starting to decide who supplies them or provides services based on ESG criteria, this could never be more important.
I know of one business that has secured a service contract at a high profile event in the summer, with one reason cited as being their work in the community. The company in question is not even in the top 30 turnover businesses in their sector but have secured exposure that would have cost hundreds of thousands in marketing.
Embrace the joy of giving back. You don’t know who is watching, what they can bring to your business, or what you can do for them.
At Fuelled Fit and Fired Up, our purpose is simple. We want to help you develop a healthy, successful, and sustainable business through being curious, honest, and connected to your community. Why don’t you contact us at info@fuelledfitandfiredup.com and see how we can help you create ESG strategies and unleash the power in your business?
David Rogers, Founder & CEO of Fuelled, Fit and Fired Up