To maximize personal happiness, prioritize spending money on charitable donations (which research shows has the highest impact), experiences like trips or special meals (second highest), and education.
To maximize the happiness derived from generosity, ensure your giving involves a sense of connection with the recipients or cause, allows you to vividly see or imagine the impact, and is a freely chosen act.
Donate money to charity, as people who do so report greater happiness; this effect was found to be equivalent to a doubling of household income in terms of its relationship with happiness.
Embrace ‘Imperfect Generosity’ by celebrating all acts of giving, even those with mixed motivations or personal rewards, rather than criticizing them, to encourage more widespread generosity in the world.
When considering charitable donations, avoid getting stuck trying to find the ‘wisest’ or ‘best’ use of your money, as this can lead to inaction; instead, ask if it’s a ‘good’ use and then proceed with the donation.
To make giving a joyful and lasting habit, supplement intellectual decisions about wise charities by seeking out personal stories of impact and joining a community of supporters.
Challenge the zero-sum mindset about giving, recognizing that acts of generosity often boost the giver’s happiness and have a low cost to wealthier individuals, especially in a world with inequality.
To maximize the happiness generated by giving, prioritize wealth redistribution towards individuals in lower-income countries and those earning less than $123,000 annually, as they experience a significantly greater happiness boost from financial gifts.
To maximize impact and create meaningful connections, combine monetary donations with giving your time, as this can unleash greater benefits for both givers and recipients.
Consider making charitable donations privately, as being ‘showy’ about giving might detract from the happiness you experience, suggesting generosity isn’t solely about external validation.
Even small charitable donations can provide a significant boost in happiness if they are given with a strong sense of connection, clear impact, and personal choice.
When giving, focus on finding opportunities where you can genuinely feel the impact of your contribution, rather than getting fixated on the exact dollar amount.
Engage in acts of generosity to make others feel ‘seen,’ as this can be a powerful experience that inspires them to pay kindness forward.
If you receive a financial windfall, consider using a significant portion of it to benefit other people, as research shows this is a common human tendency.
When faced with money, actively counteract the tendency to focus solely on self-interest and instead recall the broader wisdom that using resources to benefit others can bring greater happiness.
If you are well-off, consider adopting high giving standards, such as 10% of income or 2.5% of net worth annually, similar to religious traditions, to elevate moral standards and create significant global impact.
Experiment on yourself to discover what genuinely makes you happy, and if you find something like being in nature brings you joy, then incorporate it into your life.
Actively challenge and ‘flip the script’ on negative perceptions of the world, as believing in humanity’s goodness can encourage positive actions and generosity.
Be aware of hedonic adaptation, the tendency to adapt to wonderful things, which can cause initial boosts in happiness (like from marriage) to diminish over time.
Do not view it as inherently negative if engaging in generous behavior also enhances your reputation, as this can be a positive feature of humanity.
If you’re looking to start your own generosity journey but are unsure where to begin, use the AI assistant TIG (found at infectiousgenerosity.org) to brainstorm creative ideas for giving in your life or community.
Consider wealth redistribution, as giving money to a diverse group of people can generate 225 times as much happiness as if the same amount were kept by a wealthy individual.
For scientific research, pre-register studies by stating hypotheses and methods upfront to ensure rigor, prevent bias, and create more reliable conclusions.
When conducting scientific research, use larger sample sizes to avoid ‘fluky findings’ and achieve more reliable and replicable conclusions.
Avoid manipulating data analysis, such as selectively removing participants or re-analyzing data until a desired effect appears, as this can create effects where none truly exist.
Consider joining the host’s podcast journey to explore personal struggles like perfectionism, stress, and difficulty with boredom, aiming to understand and address these issues.