Helping Others Is the Secret to Work That Matters

Today, I’d like to encourage you to focus on helping others.

Related to my last prompt about using the triple bottom line , explore how your passion and purpose can benefit others.

There are many benefits associated with helping others. For instance, the study I mentioned in yesterday’s article

“suggest that compassionate goals contribute to decreased distress because they provide meaning and increase support given to others.”

Medium writer Kelsey Luke has gathered an impressive list of the health benefits associated with volunteering, including the following:

“A study of Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) found that people who provided service to others had a lower mortality ratethan those who did not. Long-term volunteers tend to live longer lives than those who do not volunteer regularly.”

Now,…

While volunteering can be an extremely valuable activity, it isn’t the only way to be of service and to help others. In an ideal scenario, a large fraction of everyone’s work time would be spent with activities that are of benefit to others.

As I wrote in a previous article about my favorite inspirational work quotes,

I believe that work and love are, or should be, interrelated.

(Side note: I think in this context, the words “service” and “love” pretty much mean the same thing.)

This sentiment has been beautifully expressed in one of Khalil Gibran ’s poems:

“Work is love made visible.”

Through bringing work and love together, we as a culture can move out of what I call...

Here’s how this dilemma might express itself in your own life:

When you are stuck in this dilemma, it feels like you need to choose between safe, but unfulfilling work or doing what you love, but being financially precarious.

The money-or-meaning dilemma is a deeply seated belief — but that doesn’t make it true.

For instance, it is heartening to see that more and more companies are finding a way to both make money and make a difference. For instance, B Lab certifies companies that use business to solve social and environmental problems as B Corporations.

Something similar is possible on the individual level. And, the first step is to…

TL;DR : We often derive our deepest satisfaction and fulfillment from what we can contribute to others. And ultimately, a passion that is not serving others in some way is meaningless.

As Martin Luther King Jr. put it: “Everybody can be great because anyone can serve.”

With all that being said, let’s move on to ...

Grab a pen and paper. 📝Then, take a moment to go through the following process.

(If you want to get the most out of this or if you're afraid of getting stuck, get the "Taking Action Worksheets" and begin by filling those out.)

• Make a list of 3 people you could help
  For instance: “I could help Anna feel less stressed about her current work situation. I could offer Mark help with clarifying his services and his pricing. I could help Frieda get her blog started.
  
  
• Decide which person to reach out to
  For instance: “I think I will reach out to Mark. He could really use some help with this and I feel most comfortable reaching out to him."
  
  
• Decide how you'll reach out to that person and offer your help
  For instance: “I'll see him at our course meeting next week so I can talk to him then."
  
  
• Take action

If you have found something that you love to do, find a way to do that while helping others.

For instance, if you love to make music, you might decide that you would like to inspire your audience through your songs.

Or, if you are a grammar nerd, you can use your editing skills to help others shine in their writing (such as my friend Pavita from pav EDIT a — whom I didn’t ask to proofread this particular article so all grammar mistakes are mine).