Happiness and Rewarding What We Like
Happiness and rewarding what we like go together.
As Dr. Phil likes to say, we get what we reward, so it makes sense to reward what leads to more happiness.
If we reward what we like, then we tend to get more of it … and therefore are happier.
For example, we often tip others not only because their income depends on tips as well as wages but also because we want to get good service from them in the future.
Naps
The initial topic of conversation in my training group’s 13-mile run this morning was how everybody was planning to take a nap after today’s run.
Our group run was 21 miles long the previous Saturday morning, and I surprised everyone this morning by telling them that I took a 3-hour nap after that run.
What surprised me was how few people admitted to taking a nap — or much of a nap — last Saturday.
I realize that the exigencies in other people’s lives are not necessarily the same as those in mine.
However, you have to plan for some serious recovery after running a 21-miler.
If you do not plan to take a nap after running such a long distance, then you are not rewarding what you like, which in this case is running such a long distance.
Package Deliveries
The big news this Christmas season was how package carriers FedEx and UPS had failed to deliver several packages in time for Christmas morning.
If you ordered a gift and it did not arrive in time to give at Christmas, then you may be upset at this point with the carrier.
I have heard, though, that many people see this as a temporary glitch by these two carriers.
This makes sense to me, given that these two carriers have built a lot of good will with their customers over the years and given that the carriers know that customers reward what they like — by giving them more, not less, business.
Of course, some customers may see this as an opportunity to take their business to local specialty stores.
I often recommend local specialty stores for endurance runners and walkers, but I know that specialty stores do not carry everything (How could they?), so I am a fan of online shopping — and therefore FedEx and UPS — when my favorite local store does not have what I want.
Charitable Giving
I heard someone say once that money is an expression of gratitude. I like that perspective. It is an empowering way to look at money.
As the year ends, especially here in the USA, you may be receiving a lot of mail from charitable organizations. The charities know that you may be looking for ways to make tax-deductible contributions before the year ends.
Three of my favorite charities are The Salvation Army, Feed the Children, and CURE International.
If you want to express your gratitude to charities like these for their good works, then a great way to do this is by making financial donations to them.
[Tweet “Want more good works? Give money to a charity that performs them. We get what we reward.”]
CURE International is especially impressive to me for several reasons.
- Physicians and others donate their time in developing countries around the world to cure children who are suffering from conditions such as clubfoot and bowed legs. (Can you imagine training for a marathon or other endurance race with a clubfoot or bowed legs?) Without these cures, these kids would be doomed to a life of poverty and begging, often shunned by even their own families.
- The approach of CURE International is to treat the whole child, not just the medical condition. This includes the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the child’s life.
- Many charities are content to display photographs of unnamed children, whereas CURE International not only fully names each child being helped but also tells you the child’s country, identifies the medical condition, gives you a background story about the child, and lets you make a donation to the cure of that specific child and then to follow the child’s progress over the weeks and months ahead. CURE will even facilitate the presentation of your video-recorded message to the child whom you are helping.
It’s a long story about how my wife and I came to support recently through CURE the clubfoot surgery for a seven-year-old girl by the name of Betselot Fasil, and I will share this story soon.
In fact, I am dedicating my next book — now being finished — to the “CUREkids” like Betselot, and I’ll put a link to the story on the book’s dedication page.
In the Mean Time
In the mean time, if you are looking for a charitable organization with which to get involved, then please let me respectfully suggest that you start at cure.org/spryfeet. Check out Betselot’s story, and read the heartrending stories of other children whose lives you can so positively affect. Thank you for considering helping this truly curative organization!
