What is Contribution?

Contribution can be thought of in a variety of contexts, but one way to capture the essence of contribution is to ponder on this question: If someone asked you to help an individual or group in some way, what abilities/passions/gifts could you bring to the table? In other words, what can you do as a human being within your sphere of influence to enhance the lives of other human beings?

To better understand contribution, we can examine some models used in the field of positive psychology.

Take, for example, Dr. Jared Warren’s (2022) "Three Pillars of Human Flourishing":

As you can see, contribution falls under the “People” pillar; as we contribute, we step outside of our own world and step into the world of someone else in an effort to perpetuate some form of positive change in that person’s life (keep in mind that contributing does not have to be limited to one other individual and can apply to a group of individuals as well).

While contribution resides in the “People” column, it also interacts with topics found in all three pillars of human flourishing. If we group Purpose (from the perspective pillar), Interconnectedness (from the people pillar), and Engaged Living (from the power column) together, contribution serves as the interface of these three principles. Contribution connects to purpose, because contribution is the act of giving towards a specific cause; interconnectedness, because contribution acknowledges an exchange between one or more persons; and engaged living, because contribution requires intentional effort by the one who is giving to the cause.

Now, let us look at the PERMA model, a theory on well-being created by positive psychologist Martin Seligman (2011):

While there are multiple elements in Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model, contribution may fall under the “Accomplishment” or “Achievement” element. Seligman (2011) frames accomplishment as a big motivator for humans to feel pleasure; he talks about how those who have satisfied their need to “win” through wealth have also gone on to donate huge portions of their money (Bill Gates, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie). There is a question stemming from this example, though: Do we all have to become famous billionaires in order to feel motivated to contribute to others? If we go back and ponder on the definition of contribution, which is simply reaching outside of yourself to help causes other than your own, the answer to that question is, No. Contribution does not require some magnificent achievement recognized by the public eye to be fulfilled. Rather, it can be personal and private, such as dropping off a treat to a friend, smiling at a stranger as you pass by them on the street, or saying “thank you” to the cashier who rings up your groceries.

Morphic Resonance

Perhaps the concept of “morphic resonance” can illustrate the quiet power of those contributions we make that we do not feel will effect any big changes in the long run. Coined by Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist, morphic resonance is the notion that “once something happens somewhere, it induces the same thing to happen elsewhere” (Eisenstein, 2013, p. 62). Social philosopher Charles Eisenstein (2013) extends this scientific idea into the realm of human interactions; he writes that there is a “ripple effect of changed people changing other people” (p. 63). In other words, the thanks you voiced to the cashier after ringing up your groceries could have given them the idea to thank someone else, who might thank another person, and so on.  Eisenstein posits that whether something nice you did was noticed by one person, or whether it was shown in a movie, it does not change that gesture’s impact. “So,” Eisenstein says, “whatever your reasons for choosing to do great things or small, do not let them be the urgent, fearful belief that only the big, public things have any chance of influencing the masses and saving the world” (p.68).