Giving and giving back, in my opinion, is one of the keys to happiness.

I spend a lot of time with friends and by “friends”, I mean F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Yes, I am well aware that they’re technically not my real friends but saying I spend too much time watching them is like telling a fish they swim too much. What happens when fish don’t swim? They die. All the fish would die. I’ll pass on that, thanks.

ANYWAY, while watching the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episode “The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS”, an intriguing point was raised whereby Joey claims that “there is no unselfish good deed” (check it out, it’s a fabulous episode). This wasn’t all that interesting in the sense of whether Joey is wrong or right, as we could argue about this for lifetimes, but more-so why it matters. Why does it matter if we feel good for helping someone else? Or perhaps more importantly, should it matter?

I didn’t plan on getting this personal on the first post (I’m a gal who enjoys my walls up), but here goes. Depression has riddled me for some years now and over this time I have learnt that one major way to feel okay is to help others. Giving and giving back, in my opinion, is one of the keys to happiness. It’s not about fancy gifts or giant giveaways, rather its about the little things. Consider little things that other people do to make you happy and try and do the same for them.

Considering this, don’t take on a task that will instead stress you out of bog you down because yes, Dad, I would love to take some initiative and weed the garden but at this current time, HSC does have to be a priority for me. Typing that out, I do feel selfish – something I strive so hard not to be. Yet this dilemma has to be considered from the point of view that I have around two months left of study and am more than willing to tackle big jobs afterwards. It’s about finding a balance between what you can do to help out and what you need to do to help yourself.

We are all busy in some way and on some level yet it is the little things that can make someone else’s day and, in turn, make yours too. Whether we wish to admit it or not, we thrive off of appreciation. We are more inclined to complete a task if we feel valued as a result of it. Personally, I believe that Joey is correct in saying that all good deeds are selfish but that doesn’t make them bad. We can be Selfishly Selfless. We should be selfishly selfless.