This final way to give back during tough economic times is the most personal.

Business can be stressful. Life can be stressful. The holidays – especially if you’re in retail – certainly bring this to the fore.

Do your part to reduce the world’s daily stresses – and your own – by spending more quality time with friends and family. Part of destressing during the holidays may be setting boundaries and seeing less of your family or only as much as you can reasonably handle, but if you have grandkids or your wife needs to get away for a weekend, or whatever the case, set up time to see people and be social.

You may say either, “I’m not stressed so why make this special effort,” or “I really can’t handle more family right now,” but that’s what makes this a “giving back” activity.

You have no idea how this tough economic environment is treating others. They could be stressed about finances, business, life and everything else. Your friends and family could need nothing more than to sit down for a drink, a fun dinner or a relaxing movie night. You can facilitate that by including friends and family in “for no reason” activities and really listening to them and what’s going on in their lives.

Life is too short to stress too much about jobs and family relationships, and tough economic times only tax these relationships more. If your family has hit rough spots, whether interpersonally or financially, you need to move forward after these speed bumps of life.

I promise that you’ll be a better person for this shared time, and the positive effects will be reflected in everything else you do – not to mention the effects your time and kindness will have on other people.

This concludes my Giving Back During Tough Economic Times 7-Part Series. I hope you enjoyed it and that you got some valuable ideas for how you can give back, both now and when times aren’t so tough. Even when things are looking up for you, your family or the US economy, there are always people in need everywhere. Just think creatively about what you can do to help them.

Are there ways that you give back that you’d like to share with us so that we can get good ideas? Please share anything I haven’t mentioned so far below or feel free to comment on anything I did mention.