The Power of Giving - 5 ways to give that don't cost money

Research suggests that contribution and giving not only helps us feel happier, it can also help us stay healthier for longer. Giving has been called food for the soul. And the beauty is that there are lots of ways you can give without the price tag.

Here are 5 gifts that you can give at any time of year that won't cost you money, will help you feel good and might just mean the world to someone you care about:

1. Give your Time.

Just sitting with someone helping them nut out a challenge, or having a long leisurely chat over a cuppa, is a true gift. Just being with someone can boost their emotional state and your own.

2. Give your Energy.

​​When you're facing a task that can seem overwhelming, or could be physically demanding, like de-cluttering a room, what a relief it can be when someone offers to give you a hand and they mean it! If you have the energy to help someone with a task, it helps your physical and mental motivation and state, and it is absolutely true that a problem shared is a problem halved, and more hands make much lighter work.

3. Give your full Presence.

​​While you can be physically with someone in the same room, it is another thing altogether to really give someone your full attention, really listening to what they have to say, without judging, without butting in, without focusing on what you are going to say next.

Fully focusing on someone allows them to feel truly heard and seen. That person can tell their stories and reminisce, and when they stop talking, ask a leading question like, 'tell me more', or 'what happened then?' and watch them light up as they continue to own the communication space.

4. Forgive.

Although this can be a tough one, to forgive is one of the greatest gifts you can give -mostly to yourself.

We have all felt wronged and hurt by the words and actions of others, or we could have been punishing ourselves for years.

We all have wounds that can leave us with lasting anger and bitterness, and if we don't practice forgiveness, we will be the one who pays - physically, emotionally and spiritually.

5. Express your Love and Gratitude

How many times have we heard someone say, ‘I never got the chance to tell him/her how I really felt.‘ So often we keep these thoughts and feelings to ourselves, and the moment passes. Or we can just find it difficult.

If we do make the effort to tell those closest to us how we feel about them, or how grateful we are to them, it can be such a powerful thing for everyone involved.

That comment might just be the thing that brightens up their day or their year! And you'll feel good too, knowing that you haven’t left anything unsaid.

There's never a better time to give than right now, and it will such a gift.

‘Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.’ -John Wesley

Jo Devin, Co-founder, Positive Living Skills www.positivelivingskills.com.au