How to cultivate altruism — 4 tips to get started
Although cultivating altruism may look different for each individual, these tips can apply to anyone looking to do a good deed.

1. Practice gratitude
When you’re grateful, you tend to be more generous. This ties to the concept of ‘paying it forward.’ When you appreciate what you receive and have, it encourages you to help others.

2. Cultivate compassionate empathy
Focusing on understanding other people’s perspectives and feelings can help you feel naturally drawn to helping them.

3. Fight injustice
Stand up for marginalized communities, confront hateful speech, and pay attention to what you say. By being a strong ally, you can foster altruism and help end exclusion simultaneously.

4. Discover needs
Make an effort to learn about where your giving can make the most impact. Where do you see the greatest need?

Does your community’s recreation center need to be fixed? Can you teach a new coworker something they need to know? Is there a high unemployment rate in your area? Can you host free seminars to teach people how to land jobs?

Here are five ways to encourage altruism.

1. Be a role model
Be a role model by helping others at work, in day-to-day life, and online.

Help a coworker carry equipment, bake cookies for a new neighbor, and leave uplifting comments on social media.

Consistently modeling altruism is one of the most influential ways to encourage it in others — especially kids.

2. Share real stories
Get donations and volunteers for important causes by putting a face to a name and sharing real stories.

Raising money for women in business? Share a touching story about how financial aid helped a single mom create a successful business.

3. Create a supportive community
One of the best ways to promote altruism is by creating an outlet for people to give. Building a supportive community (like a support group for single parents or at-risk teens) is a great way to do that.

4. Promote acceptance
People are more likely to help members in their personal circles. Encouraging the people around you to be more inclusive is vital to promoting altruism.

Encourage others to bring new friends to gatherings. Offer to help your workplace create a diverse workforce. Share your thoughts on social media.

5. Get your coworkers involved
Bring altruism to the workplace by supporting specific causes and creating an environment of mutual aid.

Cultivating altruism isn’t as difficult as it may sound. Even focusing on small gestures, like opening the door for someone or letting someone go ahead of you in line, can help you cultivate altruism.