The Simple, Free, and Foolproof Way to Become a Happier Person

If there were a magic pill that led to 22 percent low mortality and high levels of confidence and happiness, would you try?

I bet you.

I am here to share the good news: there is no need for pills or money or magic. In fact, the solution is simple and easy. It's called volunteering, and it's proven to make you happy and healthy. All it takes is an open mind, a complete heart, and a few hours of your time.

Wondering why restitution affects your perspective so wonderfully? Here are four reasons:

Why Volunteering Makes You Happy

1. You boost your self-confidence.

Self-love is one of the keys to happiness. You may be thinking, I know nothing or I have nothing to offer about the world but you made a mistake.

I don’t have a lot of practical skills: I can’t fix a car, teach art, or bake an award-winning pie - and don’t even start with a long stage. So I thought there were no volunteer opportunities for me. That is, I even became involved as a mentor to vulnerable youth.

Who knew I could help children by just sitting around? It was an incredible experience, and it showed me that everyone has the skills to share.

Whatever you are capable of, and love, there are causes that need your light and love. You can take the dogs to the zoo or deliver food to the elderly; even if you are confined to your home, there are opportunities for remote volunteers to work behind your computer.

Seeing how you - yes, you - can help make the world a better place is one of the greatest incentives you have ever had.

2. Make new friends.

As an adult, meeting new people is difficult. But it has been proven that people with a wider social network are happier. What is the best way to build that friendship? Dedication.

While volunteering in the United States and abroad, I met many wonderful people. People I love and respect; people who have lived in my life for many years. It was easy to find common ground when we volunteered together, and it was easy to remain friends because of our common world views.

Just last month, I went with friends in New Zealand that I met two years ago while volunteering in Nicaragua; a few weeks later, I had breakfast with a friend in Singapore whom I met nine years ago while volunteering in East Africa.

It was great to see them all again - and because of our shared experience and ideas, we never ran out of things to talk about (and probably never will).

Voluntary = friends. Friends = happiness. It’s a simple calculation, if you ask me!

3. You learn new skills.

Reading is one of the best ways to engage your mind and heart. When you think of reading, you can think of class and textbooks, but I believe that real life experience is the best teacher. And one of my favorite ways to learn new skills is to volunteer.

When I was seventeen, I did not know a hammer from a screwdriver. But then I was leading another spring vacation during my senior year in high school; help us build houses through Habitat for Humanity.

Although our volunteer vacation was just one week long, I learned a lot more during that week than I did throughout my school year.

Is there a skill that you would like to learn? Or a foreign country that you would like to receive? What about language? (I learned Spanish while volunteering abroad in Nicaragua.) Or maybe you want to learn more about yourself.

Whatever the case, there is an opportunity to volunteer to help you achieve your goals and make a difference in your life

4. You feel fulfilled.

What is more important than happiness? Fulfillment: the feeling that you are contributing to something bigger than you. Some people get it by their works, some by their families, and some by their art. Me? I found it voluntarily.

Whether you call it “warm and warm,” or simply “feel good,” giving back to others will bring you happiness - as well as its rarely found cousin.

I give myself because I feel like I am missing something in my life when I am not. I currently devote my time to the garden and to learning where we teach young children the power of healthy eating. Seeing their faces light up when they read they actually love broccoli is something I will never give up on the world.

If you would like to bring the light of a particular life into your life, try to bring it first to someone else. Whether you serve food in the soup kitchen once a month or go on a volunteer holiday in Tanzania, stop making excuses and look for it. Your world - and your soul - will thank you.

Do you volunteer? Does it make you happier?