Is There Really Such A Thing As A Selfless Act?

I recently spent a few hours one morning volunteering. I was collecting money for a charity organisation on a busy street in the city centre. You know, the type of people that we sometimes cross the street to avoid. I was wearing a bright coloured, oversized t-shirt and I had a big blue bucket with change in it.

It was a very rewarding experience and even though technically I was giving my time, I got a lot out of it. In fact, I feel I got a lot more from it than I gave. It made me think “Is there really such a thing as a completely selfless act?”. And I’ve come to the conclusion that there is not. We should all seek out opportunities to do good deeds when we can. If you are still not convinced, here are the 5 best things about a selfless act.

5 Best Things About A 'Selfless Act'

Feel Good Factor
Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime
Making The World A Better Place
Developing New Skills
Meeting New People

What Do We Mean By 'Selfless Act'?

Firstly, let’s take a look at what we mean by selfless act. And before anyone says it, arguably, sacrificing one’s life for another or the greater good, is in fact a completely selfless act. However I am not talking about anything dramatic or life altering. By Selfless Act, I am simply talking about doing something that will benefit another and will seemingly not benefit you.

5 Best Things About A 'Selfless' Act

Some simple everyday examples may include; helping an elderly person to carry their groceries, offering your seat to someone on the train, paying for the coffee of the person in front of you. The beauty of this is, even if we really and truly are doing it for the other person, we still get something from it. And that is okay. It doesn’t take anything away from the good deed. In the hopes that you too will be inspired to do more for others, here are the 5 best things about a ‘selfless’ act:

1. The Feel Good Factor

If you do a good deed, a random act of kindness or a (not so) selfless act, everyone involved feels good. It is that simple. We live in an increasingly cold and cruel world, kindness is not the default. The person or people you choose to help will almost always feel better because of what you have done. And they will appreciate you for it. You feel good, they feel good. The end. Admittedly sometimes people don’t show their appreciation, in that moment, however you can feel good that you did it, regardless of the gratitude, or lack there of.

2. Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime

It is so easy. There are no minimum requirements for doing a good deed. All we need to do is be aware of the opportunity around us. Of course, we can sign up to volunteer for a weekend, we can even take a 3 month sabbatical to build houses in third world countries. But we don’t need to do that, to be able to benefit others and ourselves in the process. It can take less than a minute to do a good deed. It doesn’t even need to interrupt your normal day. Anyone can do it, anywhere, anytime.

3. Making The World Better

Yes, this sounds pretty dramatic. But it is true. If we all set about doing one ‘selfless’ thing everyday, the world would be a better place. And you would have contributed to that. If you keep doing that, all of a sudden, you are starting to have real impact. Even if it just means that there is more kindness and less cruelty, it is a step in the right direction. Nobody thinks they can make the world a better place, and we can’t, alone. But it all adds up.

4. Developing New Skills

Whilst I was out asking total and complete strangers to support my cause, I was building confidence. If you are brave enough to interact with a random stranger, you are building interpersonal skills. Sometimes you may be developing or building on existing skills in a very small way. Other times you may be developing a really important skill in a big way. Regardless, with almost any selfless act, you are inadvertently developing your skills as a human being. Yet another upside. There is no downside to this.

5. Meeting New People

So I can’t be sure that every single (not so) selfless act will mean you are meeting new people, but most of them do. During my little charity stint, I met a new colleague from work who I’d never previously interacted with and I also met about 100 people on the street. Each time we meet and interact with a new person, we learn a bit more about the world and about ourselves. Some people are intimidated by meeting new people, in that case, it is an opportunity to develop that skill. And usually the people who you meet provide you with a well worthwhile interaction.

How Can I Start?

I am sure you must be fully convinced that although there is no such thing as a completely selfless act, they are still worth doing. And you are dying to know how you can get started. As per point number two above, you can start anywhere, anytime. As outlined in our previous post 3 Reasons To Seek New Challenges In Your Thirties there are many benefits and volunteering could be a great way to do it!

Just start. Do something nice for someone else today. It can be big or small. It can be someone you know or a total stranger. Just look for an opportunity to help someone out. And reap the rewards. If you do have any ideas or suggestions for ways people can start, please do share them in the comments so that we can all do a bit more.

If you need some inspiration, why not check out Be Kind, filled with uplifting stories and ideas for selflessness.