AlexShalman.comPractical Personal Development

Friday is Thinking day at AlexShalman.Com

There is a difference between a life of servitude and serving people on a regular basis. I would consider that monks, religious leaders and parents are living a life of servitude. Doctors, social workers, and teachers are offering a service for a living. However, regardless of what profession you choose, or where you are in life, you could be serving people on a regular basis.

People choose different paths of contribution:

• Volunteer time
• Donate money
• Offer advice
• Share experience
• Motivate others
• Encourage others to contribute

I’ve found that different people have different reasons to contribute. For example, did you know that in order to get into medical school you are practically required to show some volunteer time on your resume? A person that is in need of a volunteer might end up with someone that doesn’t want to be there. One can argue that beggers can’t be choosers and some help is better than none; others may say that this ruins the reputation of those volunteers that put their hearts into it.

You can think of volunteer work as something you do for others, or you may look at what you can get out of it. Another way to look at it is as an exchange. My friends house was robbed a couple of months ago, as well as several neighbors in the community. They now have a regular neighborhood watch, where all the neighbors volunteer to watch each others houses during different times.

“Never forget that the purpose for which a man lives is the improvement of the man himself, so that he may go out of this world having, in his great sphere or his small one, done some little good for his fellow creatures and labored a little to diminish the sin and sorrow that are in the world.“

~ William E. Gladstone

Journal Exercise

The question remains, what do you get out of serving others? Here are some ideas. Take some time in your daily/weekly journal to explore your reasons for volunteering and serving others. Here are some ideas:

1. To gain a skill
2. To keep busy
3. To have an impact
4. To help a friend or relative
5. To feel good about yourself
6. To not be bored
7. To challenge yourself
8. To make some friends
9. To feel needed
10. To make a difference

If you have a blog, feel free to share your take on this with your readers. Make sure you explain what you do to serve others (think hard I’m sure you can think of something!) and what your reasons are for performing this action. Feel free to link back here, in order to keep the conversation going. If you don’t have a blog, just get in this comment box below and start talking!

I would like to ask the following bloggers to share with us.

Liz Strauss – Dawud Miracle – Leo Babauta

Dave Olson – Carolyn Manning – Ann Michael