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Why would you assume that the happiness the doer gives away is 'deducted,' rather than being returned to the doer triple-fold?

At least as respects volunteering, I always got way more back in return for the value of the time spent. Why would it be any different with happiness?

by sgr2 on Thu Sep 30th, 2010 at 07:58:01 AM EST
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Yes of course that is often the case, but I wanted to point out that there can be an exchange of 'happiness' that is deducted - for instance, one can easily give 10€ to charity, but what if you gave a 1000 or 10000 €, and your monthly salary is 3000. At some point there is a deduction.

When you decide on an amount to give, it is usually below that which feels like a deduction. And that 'amount' can be money, possessions, time and/or skills. I'm interested in how people find that point. How do you decide on the amount of time you put into volunteering? Is 40 hours a week too much? Is 10 hours too much? Because you are definitely making a decision, drawing a line.


You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Sep 30th, 2010 at 08:49:47 AM EST
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Hmm, okay, that's an interesting point. In deciding upon how much time to give, I approach my volunteer projects just the same as I would any other task; putting in as much time as it takes to get the job done to the best of my ability.

I would say how much time most people give away is totally dependent on their other responsibilities at the time and how much of their personality is geared to giving. If you're a giving person by nature, it's easy to give until you meet a point of diminishing returns.

by sgr2 on Thu Sep 30th, 2010 at 10:48:53 AM EST
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