The Gains Achieved By Giving: Helping Others To Become Your Best
A big part of personal development is reaching out to help others; few things lift you up more or add to your integrity more than honest charity. Here are some things you can do to help other people and improve yourself from the inside out at the same time.
1. Become the light in a child's eyes. Volunteering to become a big brother or sister provides you with a regular opportunity to teach, guide and improve the conditions of a child's life; doing so will provide you with a constant source of inspiration. What could be more rewarding or a greater stepping stone in your path to self-improvement than building up a child?
2. Helping out the four-legged friends. There are more unwanted animals in the world than you could possible imagine, and not enough hands or money to care for them. Working a few hours a week at a local shelter or sending them donations on a regular basis could be a wonderful way to realize more of your own goodness and character.
3. Just asking people you see. Countless times throughout the day, we see people in need of some help, but most of us just keep walking. Be a hero in somebody's day and offer directions or to carry a few grocery bags to their car. If your co-worker is having a hard time or fallen behind on a project, see what you can do to unburden them. You will find it enlightening.
4. Talk to your family. Sometimes, reaching out to members of our own family can be the most challenging form of charity. An old wound or rivalry could be keeping you from helping out right at home, or maybe you've just let too much time go by since your last phone call. Learning to live like time is a fleeting, precious and finite commodity can help change your perspective into a more productive one.
5. Improve appearances. That old theater in the center of town in need of a fresh coat of paint? Maybe the neighborhood park is run-down and plastered with graffiti? Take the initiative and get people talking about it; organize a local team that can tackle the project and turn it into an inspirational success. Such an endeavor will touch the lives of many people, most of whom you will never even meet.
6. Teach what you know. There are many places that try and help people become better in their lives, from simple home improvements to personal finances and a million things in between. If you know how to repair your own vehicle or household plumbing, why not volunteer to help others know this as well? There will always be a need to reach out and always a place to do it in; helping others to become better, more self-sufficient people themselves is the ultimate in your own quest to be a better person.
Reaching out to help others will put your life and priorities into perspective. Since what you give of yourself usually comes back to you ten-fold, it's also a great way to become a better you.
