How Helping Others Helps You

A reader's question: Dear Jonathan, Can you please explain in simple words what this quote is trying to convey?

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life,
that no man can sincerely try
to help another without helping himself.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

My answer:

If you help other people, your life becomes happier and more fulfilling.

There are three reasons for this:

1. Most immediately, the act of helping another provides a sense of your own value, which directly makes you happier and more fulfilled.

2. Other people will see you as a worthwhile and moral person, and will be more likely to help you get what you want.

3. If you believe in a kind and compassionate God, or in a universal intelligence, or in karma, you know that there is a force that rewards good actions.

As we work to create light for others,
we naturally light our own way.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

See more quotes about service