Creative Altruism

​Background

I am excited to give you the instructions for one of my favorite happiness exercises—the 3rd exercise, which I call "creative altruism." I call it that because, as you will soon find out, you’ll have to be both—creative and altruistic—in this exercise.

​Your task in this exercise is to play an "altruistic prank" on someone. The exercise has four steps, and the first step is to come up with an idea and then a plan to evoke a feeling of joy or happiness in someone.

​Remember how we used to play pranks on others when we were kids—like let the air out of someone’s bicycle or throw toilet paper over a neighbor’s house? In this exercise too, you’ll be asked to play a prank, except that, it won’t be just you who’s having fun; the "victim" of your prank will be having lots of fun too!

​Objective

The objective is to asses whether being kind or generous is as reliable a source of happiness as it was found to be in the studies I mentioned in Chapter 3B of the book.

Please provide an email address to which your entries can be emailed.

Coming up with a "creative altruism" idea

In this you think about what you will do to bring joy, warmth or happiness to others. If you need help with coming up with ideas, watch this 5-minute video that will get you into the mood of 'creative altruism'.

If you're in a hurry, here are 10 creative altruism ideas:

1. Tip too much. Way too much the next time you get good service.
2. On a hot day, get 50 bottles of ice-cold water and give them away to runners at a local park/trail.
3. Wear a ridiculous costume (Mickey mouse or Spiderman—not Tarzan!) that covers your face, stand at a street corner and offer free handshakes to anyone and everyone. (Some people find free hugs off-putting.)
4. Make up funny posters (e.g., Smiling is the 2nd best thing you can do with your lips) and plaster them all around your neighborhood. (Do take them down after a while though!)
5. Donate extra books at home to a little free library. Along the same lines, donate extra clothes to dress for success (if these are ladies’ clothing) or to poor people living in the slums or to an organization like goodwill (see goodwill.org)
6. Find a blogger who’s been flamed and send him/her a supportive note (even if you don’t fully agree with what he/she has said).
7. Go to a local show (e.g., a stand-up comedy act, a band) with a bunch of friends and scream, shout, cheer, and encourage those who are performing. Make them feel like a million bucks!
8. Collect a bunch of wildflowers, make a bouquet out of it and leave it at a neighbor’s doorstep with a note saying, “Thanks for being a great neighbor!”
9. Go to a local hospice (or old age home) and offer to sing, read, play the fool, perform magic, or just plain listen to the stories from the lives of the elderly.
10. Give a homeless person a camera and ask him to take a walk with you and shoot the images that he finds interesting. Treat him to a good lunch later and find out why he took pictures of the things that he did. (Later, develop the pictures and give him a copy.)

Some of these ideas have been shamelessly borrowed from the following website: http://www.alexandrafranzen.com/2013/09/05/50-ways-to-be-ridiculously-generous/. (Thank you, Alexandra Franzen, whoever you are!)

If you are ready with an idea and a plan, go to the next step.

Type out your idea and your plan!

This step involves typing out your idea and coming up with a concrete plan to execute your idea. Exactly when and how are you going to carry out your plan? If your plan is to leave a box of chocolate outside your neighbor’s door, think:

• When are you going to buy the chocolate and from where? What size?
• When (at what time) will you leave the bag outside your neighbor’s door?
• Will the box be gift-wrapped? If so, who will do it?

Executing your plan

This last step is the most important one, where you execute your idea. In executing the idea, keep in mind the "three rules for giving":

1. Contain your cost of giving. Make sure you don’t overwhelm yourself - or your resources.

2. Fun for both parties: Do something that's fun not just for others, but for yourself as well, and finally,
3. See the impact: Make sure that you are there to see the impact of your act on the recipient. So, for example, if you leave a box of chocolates for your neighbors, be sure to watch their reactions when they see the box.

Reflecting on your experience

The step needs to be completed after you have perpetrated your "creative altruism" act. If you haven’t yet completed this act, come back later

Answer the following four questions:

Take your time in answering these questions, since you want to make sure you capture everything that you experienced in this exercise.

When you complete the exercise you will receive an e-mail containing all your entries.