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JEREMY’S JOURNAL Business blogging by publisher Jeremy Corner of Blue Eyed Sun.
Thinking Of You Jeremy Corner, owner of greeting card publisher Blue Eyed Sun, looks at the benefits of Thinking of You Week.
How would you like to improve your mental and physical health, become more attractive and have more sex? Believe it or not these are some of the potential benefits of taking part in the GCAinstigated initiative, Thinking of You Week this September (24-30 September). That’s because sending Thinking Of You cards is an act of altruism that is often rooted in empathy and/or compassion. Specifically, altruism is an action that benefits someone else. It’s different to empathy (our emotional experience of other’s feelings) and compassion (our emotional response to suffering and authentic desire to alleviate it). If you have all three it can be good for you, good for others and even good for your business.
It’s good for you When we act generously towards others we benefit as much as those to whom we are giving. The Dalai Lama playfully calls this “selfish altruism”. For example, a Harvard Study has shown that those who give contributions of time or money “are 42% more likely to be happy” than those who didn’t give (ask those who have contributed 92
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
Above: Send a message of appreciation in a card this Thinking of You Week. Below: Post a little happiness - a Natural Partners design. Right: Generous behavior releases oxytocin in both the giver and receiver.
so far to my Mongolian fundraising and those that haven’t - the latter are definitely more miserable). For those that donate their time, psychologists have identified something called ‘helpers high’. Giving produces endorphins in the brain that produce a mild morphine type hit. Neuroscientists have even shown that the same part of our brain that lights up when we have sex is triggered by giving money to charity. It’s not just our minds that benefit, our bodies do too. Compassion can also protect us from stress, through a lower heart rate and lower cortisol levels (the stress hormone) among other health benefits. Spending money on others may also lower blood pressure and those that volunteer have been shown to experience fewer aches and pains, better overall health and less depression. According to one study, older volunteers even have a significantly lower chance of dying. Taking part in Thinking of You Week might also improve your love life. One
survey of 10,000 people across 37 cultures found that kindness is the single universal requirement and the most important criterion for choosing a mate. Altruists are considered more attractive than non-altruists and they also have more sex. Taking the time to focus on others, rather than ourselves, is undoubtedly good for us. What’s more important is that generous acts, like sending a card, are good for others too.
Good for others None of us ever really know what’s going on inside other people’s minds. So often those who appear to have everything we might want in life decide to end it all. These deaths are a tragic and important reminder
for us to take care of one another and let each other know that they/we are loved. Even those who don’t go to suicidal extremes may still be suffering in silence behind masks of happiness, success, etc. If you love someone, care about them or think they’re great in any way then let them know. A few kind words in a card can really brighten someone’s day. Royal Mail’s scientific study several years ago showed that mothers have a more positive emotional response towards