Feb 10 2009
Good Deeds–Why Doing Good Deeds Is…. Good
(Do you get that ‘good’ is the operative word of the day today? Good.) My mother used to have this rule for herself. She’d do one good deed a day. She would let a car out of a parking lot on a busy road and announce to me, “See? I’ve done my one good deed for the day.” (Of course she would do other good deeds, but because she was declaring one good deed, I wasn’t always sure she planned to.) However, she was on to something.
But just one good deed a day? I think not. Especially knowing all the benefits one reaps from doing good deeds. What? Am I making altruism self-serving? Well, you know, we’ve all got to multi-task sometime. 
Doing good deeds not only helps the ones being served, according to various research. Good deeds also do some pretty cool things to the brain. Good deeds allow people to bond more easily with others, to feel more satisfied, to deal with stress better, and (did I mention) to live longer lives? That’s right, longevity has been linked with volunteering and altruism. So go out there and do great things! You know you want to, and the difference you make will spread around–and sneak it’s ever-loving way back to you.
