5 Simple Ways to Help Others

Helping others is one of the most powerful things you can do whenever you are feeling upset or find yourself in a self-improvement slump. In a magical way, when we help others, we also help ourselves.

Helping others makes you feel pretty amazing. Not to mention you are doing a good deed to improve the world, or at least someone else’s life, in the process. There are some simple, yet ultra-effective, ways that you can help others to feel better about yourself and strive towards the path of self-improvement:

1) Volunteer

This is an oldy but a goody. A classic that we all think when it comes to good deeds is to volunteer. To give up one of your most valuable assets, your time, and go to places that are short-staffed and/or in need of help will feel extremely rewarding. Some places you can volunteer at are animal shelters, retirement homes, homeless shelters, and libraries. Find a place that fits your interest and help your community. You will be doing a good deed and you will feel good about it as well.

Here you can find volunteer opportunities near you.

2) Donate to Charity

If you don’t have the time to go and volunteer but still want to help the less fortunate, one way to do this is to donate to charity. Personally, I prefer volunteering as I don’t get that personal connection with donating to charity, but I know plenty of people who feel much better after donating any sum of money. If you think this might be you, donate. It doesn’t matter the reason you are doing it, if you are helping an important cause, it is worth it.

Many charities do keep a large portion of the money for themselves so please do your research before donating. One great charity is St. Jude’s. Another alternative is to give money directly to those in need, such as homeless people.

3) Help a co-worker

Just taking some time out of your day to help a co-worker can make you feel fulfilled and in a great mood for the rest of the day. Your co-worker will also appreciate it and may be able to help you out if needed in the future. Recently at work, we had 2 new hires and I made sure to tell them both to come to me if they need help with anything during their onboarding process. Whether they decide to take me up on that offer is totally their prerogative, but extending that invitation to them and making them feel welcome and part of the work-family felt like the right thing for me to do and was important to me. It doesn’t hurt that it also made me feel good!

4) Buy candy for your cashier

This might be a bit of a strange one, but I read this on social media before and thought it was a great idea. When on line at the grocery store, there are typically a bunch of candy bars and other items near the cashier for easy picking. Ask the cashier which one is their favorite (usually you make it sound like you are going to buy it for yourself but can’t decide which to get) and once they tell you their favorite, buy it and give it to them as a thank you for doing a great job. You will usually make their shift, if not their whole day! I mean, who doesn’t love a good piece of candy? And with the pandemic, essential workers deserve our praise now more than ever before.

5) Give a sincere compliment

Giving somebody a sincere compliment can make them feel really good about themself, gain confidence, and be in a better mood for the rest of the day. For example, if you notice a co-worker got a new haircut, point it out. Or if you appreciate an outfit somebody is wearing, even a stranger, let them know! Giving out these small but genuine compliments takes less than 15 seconds of our time but can make that person’s entire day.

Small tasks add up

Just doing small, random acts of kindness every day will add up. Almost every day when I pray, I ask to be able to help somebody in need today. This might be doing something that is time-consuming or it might be something that is relatively effortless. That doesn’t matter to me. What matters is helping, in any way, shape, or form.

When is the last time you went out of your way to help somebody? How did it make you feel? Let me know!

Best,

Eric