“For example,” says Rifkin, “if you were offered a massage at a particularly busy time of year, would you do it? We found it probably wouldn’t, because you assumed you would be too stressed and distracting and really won’t be able to relax.
“An unfortunate paradox, however, is that this way of thinking is counterproductive to health. It is when we are most fatigued that individuals can really benefit most from self-care. donate yourself,” she said.
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The researchers looked at time, money, and mental health pressures, as well as how they can all make us less interested in self-gifting. In one experiment, they showed participants an advertisement for a fictional product and rated their level of interest. For half of the participants, they added a self-gifting tagline, encouraging the product to be consumed with a happiness-based purpose – such as ‘Make time for me’ or ‘make a special moment’.
They found that when participants felt more stressed about tight budgets, busy schedules, or long to-do lists, they were less interested in products with a self-gift tagline. They buy fewer items and are less interested in trying them out. When asked why, people indicated that they would not be able to truly enjoy the experience.
Why is it important to give yourself a gift?
Rifkin and her colleagues were particularly curious if this line of thinking was correct, or if people were unwittingly undercutting their own happiness. They followed studies where people engaged in self-gifting experiences – trying to create a special moment – to see how that affected their happiness. They discovered that those who initially felt stressed were much happier and more relaxed after giving gifts to themselves. They feel less stressed and less prone to time crunches.
“I hope that understanding these findings can help people challenge some of their inner stories about the moment. compare to. It’s not a good time to do something for myself,” Rifkin said. “I know I’ve managed to change my habits a bit because of our research.”
Source: Eurekalert
