Looking for a reason to blow off that phone date with your chronic-complainer friend and indulge in some retail therapy instead? Here’s a great one: New science says that giving yourself the green light to act selfishly from time to time can help you lead a happier life.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania split 216 people into three groups, and gave each person a small amount of money. One group was told the money was theirs to keep, one was told they would have to donate the money to a charity, and the last group was given a choice between keeping or donating their cash. The researchers than asked the study participants to rate their level of happiness on a scale from 1 to 7 (1 being bummed, 7 being ecstatic).
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The happiest people—by far—were those forced to keep the money. They registered a 5.13 on the happiness spectrum, up roughly 20% from those who were given a choice. At the bottom of the happiness pack: Those told they had to donate their money to charity.
On a basic level, we want to improve our own lives, says study author Jonathan Z. Berman, a marketing researcher at Penn’s Wharton School of Business. Yet we also couldn’t function as a society if everyone only focused on themselves, he says. And it’s those conflicting interests that create tension.
“People often really want to pick the option that benefits themselves, but they know that if they do so, they will feel selfish,” Berman says. And so they end up feeling less happy—even when they choose to act altruistically.
Bottom line: Acting in the interests of others is great and makes the world a better place, Berman says. But it’s also okay to sometimes act unashamedly in your own self-interest, he says. Give yourself leave twice a day to put your own needs first. You’ll feel happier when your own lot improves, and you’ll derive more satisfaction during those other times when you help others, Berman says.
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