How Can An Individual Benefit From Contributing To Society?

Contributing to society means to participate in community and self-development activities. For example, participating in community decision making processes ... Skiptocontent Disclosure:Asaparticipantinaffiliateprograrms,weearnfromqualifyingpurchasesmadeonourwebsite.Ifyoumakeapurchasethroughlinksfromthiswebsite,wemaygetasmallshareofthesalefromtheseaffiliateprograms.Youcanreadourcompletedisclaimerformoredetails. It’snotaselfishquestiontowonderwhatonewouldbenefitfromcontributingtosociety.Infact,it’soneofthefirstquestionsoneshouldaskwhenthinkingaboutwhetherornottogetinvolvedintheircommunity. Researchhasshownthatwhenanindividualcontributestosocietytheirphysicalandmentalhealthimproveaswellastheiroverallsocialwellbeing.Communitydecision-makingprocessesarealsomoreeffectivewhenindividualsgetinvolved.Asaresult,theirenvironmentsimproveaswell.  Thesebenefitsarebynomeansabstract.Researchhasshownthatgettinginvolvedinone’scommunitycanimproveoveralllifesatisfaction,lowerstressleadingtoadecreasedriskofprematuredeath,andcanhelpimproveconditionssuchasdepression.  Gettinginvolvedalsohelpsstrengthensocialconnections,whichhassimilarand,perhapscompounding,effectsonhealth.Studieslookingattheimpactofincreasedsocialconnections,forinstance,foundthatdoublingthenumberofone’sfriendshasthesameimpactonhappinessasa50%increaseinincome. Alongthesamelines,researchfromColumbiaUniversitydemonstratedlinksbetweensocialintegrationandbetterrecoverytimesforstrokepatients.AHarvardstudyevenfoundimprovedmemoryamongelderlysubjectswhoweremoresociallyintegrated. Anindividualalsobenefitsindirectlywhencontributingtosocietyastheircommunityimprovesthroughtheirengagement.Studieshaveshownthatcivicparticipationcanimprovethingslikepublichealth,environmentalmanagement,safety,andevenlocaleducationoutcomes. Belowexplorestheseideasinmoredepthbyanswerthreepopularquestions:  Whatdoescontributingtosocietymean?Whyisitimportanttocontributetosociety?Whatcanyoucontributetosociety? Whatdoesitmeantocontributetosociety? Beforedivingintohowtogetinvolved,it’susefultotakeastepbackandaskwhatwemeanby“contributingtosociety.” Contributingtosocietymeanstoparticipateincommunityandself-developmentactivities.Forexample,participatingincommunitydecisionmakingprocesses,volunteeringforanddonatingtocharities,constructiveinvolvementinsocialnetworks,orconcertedeffortstoenrichone’sownwellbeingandcharacter. Inthecontextofeverydaylife,thereisaninfinitenumberofopportunitiestocontributetosociety.Thetermcouldtrulyapplytoanypositiveormeaningfulengagementwithoneselforothers.  Whilesomemaybetemptedtothinkofcontributingtosocietyasbeingcompletelyaltruistic,it’sworthnotingthattheindividualalsobenefitsastheircommunityimproves.Notetoothatthedefinitionof“contributingtosociety”outlinedaboveincludeshowanindividualtreatsanddevelopsthemself.Afterall,societyisonlyaswellaseachindividual.  So,byeachpersondevelopingthemselves,societyasawholebenefits.Everythingfrommaintainingsupportiveandhealthyrelationshipstolearningnewskillsandcultivatingpersonalinterestscanhelpbuildthefoundationforastrongsociety. Engagingwiththecommunityis,ofcourse,theotherendoftheequation.Withinthescopeoftheseengagements,theimportanceofsmallinterpersonalinteractionscannotbeoverstated.Oftencalled“weakties”insociology,briefexchangesandcasualacquaintanceshavepowerfuleffects.OnestudyfromtheUniversityofBritishColumbiaconcludedthat, …evensocialinteractionswiththemoreperipheralmembersofoursocialnetworkscontributetoourwell-being. Buildinghealthyandsupportiverelationshipswithfamilyandfriendsisanotherimportantaspectofcontributingtosociety.Insomeways,thesecorenetworksaretheprimarymodeforhowanindividualcangiveback.Inmostcases,relationshipswithcoresocialcirclesarewhereindividualshavethemostinfluence. Studieshaveshown,forexample,thatpeoplecaninfluencethosearoundthemondecisionsrangingfromtraveldestinationstotattoos.Engagementswithfamilyandfriends,then,areacornerstoneofsocialcontribution. Thefinaldimensiontosocialcontributioncouldbethoughtofasinvolvementwiththe“widercommunity.”Thesetypesofactivitiescouldbedirectorindirectengagements.Forexample,volunteeringatasoupkitchenorparticipatinginlocalassociationsaredirectengagementswithothermembersofthecommunity.Ontheotherhand,thingslikedonatingmoneyorgivingbloodindirectlyengageothermembersofthecommunitybutclearlycontribute.  Whyisitimportanttocontributetosociety? Whiletheanswertothisquestionmaysoundobvious,it’sanimportantquestionandonethatdeservescarefulconsideration. Contributingtosocietystrengthensfundamentalhumanconnectionsanddecision-makingprocesses.Individualcontributionstothecommunityareuniqueand,thus,irreplaceable.Givingbackallowsindividualstoself-actualizeaswellasimprovetheircommunitythroughtheirdistinctivetalents. Again,it’sworthemphasizingthatcontributingtosocietydoesn’tjustmeanselflessbehaviorinwhichtheindividualgainsnothingorevenlosessomething.Thatwouldbeself-defeating;onecannothopetoimprovesocietybyharmingone’sonesecurity.  Insomecases,ofcourse,contributionsmayseementirelyaltruisticlikedonatingmoneyorvolunteering.However,theindividualparticipatingintheseactivitiesstillgainsbydirectingresourcestowardthingstheyfeelareimportant,andbygaininga“senseofpurpose.”  Thissenseofpurposeissomethingthatresearchershaveshowntobecrucialformentalandphysicalhealth.OnestudypublishedinSleepScienceandPractice,forexample,foundthatthosewithahighersenseofpurposeshowedbettersleepingpatterns.Sleep,ofcourse,hasmassiveeffectsonanindividual’soverallhealth. Inthebroadestsenseoftheterm,anindividualpursuinganinherentinterestortalentisoneimportantwayofcontributingtosociety.Eachindividualissouniquethattheirskillsandtalentscannotbereproducedbyanyother.And,that’snotjustaniceplatitude.  Mathematicallyspeaking,theoddsofanyoneindividualexistingis1in10^2,685,000.Toclarify,that’s10followedby2,685,000zeros.Theprobabilityofeachindividualexistingthenisalmostzeroandtheprobabilityofduplicatingasingleindividualisevenlower.  Eachpersonpossessessuchuniquecharacteristicsthatwithholdingindividualtalentsandskillsfromsocietyispracticallyanaffrontagainstnature.Itis,therefore,importanttocontributetheseskillstosocietyforthebenefitofboththeindividualandsocietywritlarge. AsRoyT.BennetwroteinTheLightintheHeart, Youareunique.Youhavedifferenttalentsandabilities.Youdon’thavetoalwaysfollowinthefootstepsofothers.Andmostimportantly,youshouldalwaysremindyourselfthatyoudon’thavetodowhateveryoneelseisdoingandhavearesponsibilitytodevelopthetalentsyouhavebeengiven. Whatcanyoucontributetosociety? Aboveoutlinedanumberofwaysinwhichindividualscancontributetosociety.It’sworthsummarizingthemonemoretime,however. Anindividualcancontributetosocietybydevelopingtheirowncharacter,talents,andwellbeing;cultivatinghealthyrelationshipswithfamilyandfriends;positivelyengagingwithcasualacquaintancesandstrangers;aswellas,becominginvolvedinsocialnetworksandcommunitydevelopment.  Theactivitiesthatfallunderthecategoryofhowanindividualcouldcontributetosocietyarefartoonumeroustolist.So,ifreaderstakeawayonethingfromthispostIhopethatit’stheideathatsocialcontributionislikeanonion–beginning,atthecore,withself-developmentandfromtherebuildingonlayersofcommunitydevelopmentwiththoseinourclosestcirclesandmovingtowardthelargercommunity. Ifyou’reinterestedincontributingtosociety,Iencourageyoutocheckoutsomeofthepostsbelowwhichdiveintomoredetailonhowtodevelopthose“onionlayers”ofsocialcontribution. 18ExamplesofCivicEngagementActivitiesVolunteerWorkThat’sGoodForYourResume&YourCommunityCivicEngagementExplained:Definition,Examples,&Models15IncredibleExamplesofOnePersonMakingaDifferenceHowCommunityInvolvementCanReduceCrimeWhatisCommunityInvolvement:FiveGoodExamplesWhatisSocialWellbeingandHowdoWeAchieveIt? Tweet Email DanJasperisthefounderandprimaryauthorofStreetCivics.Hespecializesinadvocacyandinternationalaffairs. 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