Wondering How to Serve Others In Your Best Way? Take These 4 Steps!
I am a servant of sorts. Don’t worry it’s not as bad as it sounds. I love to serve others. It gives me more joy than anything else. Let me explain.
In my day job I clean houses. I serve others in the classic capacity of doing housework but it brings me joy when I think about how I’m helping my families to spend more time together and less time on chores.
My volunteer work is all about teaching. In this way I serve others by giving them beneficial information that will improve their lives and their futures. It makes me happy when I can brighten someone’s day with some much needed encouragement.
Finally, as a blogger I hope to serve others. I want to help people simplify their lives so they can live them more fully. It makes me feel amazing when I hear that I’ve helped someone, in any small way, declutter or simplify.
And there’s a lot of other ways to serve others that fit into different parts of my days, weeks, and months. Small gestures, kind words, and more.
Every time I give of myself I receive the joy of giving. It’s a joy that is tied up with their joy. This kind of joy makes me feel good about myself and draws me closer to others. It’s the best joy there is.
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Why Should We Serve Others If We Want to Be Happy?
In his newest book, Things That Matter by Joshua Becker, he directs us to a simple concept spoken long ago.
“There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”
-Jesus Christ
We are all looking for happiness. Because we want to be happy we buy things and do things for ourselves. And you know what? There is nothing wrong with that. We should take care of ourselves and have enjoyment in our life.
But as Joshua Becker emphasizes in his book, we are the happiest when we serve others. When we find in our abundance a way to help others with their lack we receive the joy of giving and the satisfaction of contribution. Showing kindness always makes the world better.
We also want to serve others in our families. If you are wondering how to strengthen your relationship having a serving attitude in your family is very helpful.
So if we need to give to have a happy simple life that is full of meaning, how can we do it?
What are some ways to serve others? How do we know where we can make the biggest contribution? In short how can we figure out how to serve others in the best way we possibly can?
How to Serve Others -There Are Lots of Options
In this world, there are a lot of problems. Sometimes it feels like the problems are much too big and we are much to small to make any difference. We feel like putting our heads in the sand and ignoring it all but that doesn’t feel good either.
So how can we serve others? There are lots of ways.
You can help people you know by bringing them a meal when their sick, giving them some money in hard times, giving them things they need and more.
When you are a good friend you will know what your friends need and you will be able to give them practical help or a listening ear when they need it.
If you are sitting there wondering how to serve others in a specific situation it starts with imagining yourself in their shoes.
What about people you don’t know? Are you wondering how to serve others on a grander scale? You can help them by volunteering or donating to various organizations that help them. Simply raising an awareness about a problem can help.
Break Free of Fears That Hold You Back So You Can Serve Others
You may feel like you don’t have that much to give. You may ask; “I’m not rich or powerful. How can I serve others or make a difference?”
In his book Things That Matter, Joshua Becker explains that a lot of what holds us back from making our greatest contribution in the world is fear.
We fear failure and success, uncertainty, rejection, lack of ability, and even a loss of control or comfort. All these fears are internal conversations we have with ourselves when we want to do something but think we can’t.
Like Joshua Becker I find that I hold back because I fear of a lack of comfort. I don’t want things to mess up my nice schedule and life. I’m ashamed to say that fear sometimes holds me back from doing things that serve others.
What do you fear? You may fear that you will start something and fail. Your past may make you feel that you are not good enough to help someone else. But often times the things that we have struggled with are exactly the things we can help with.
In fact it is on of the signs of humility to be willing and ready to help others as best you can.
Take some time to think about what fears hold you back so you can start to overcome them. Then ask yourself; “How can I serve others anyway? What is within my abilities and circumstances?”
Find Out What You are Passionate About
The next step in helping others and being a happiness giver is to think about yourself. I know it sounds counter intuitive. However, there are so many problems in the world that it is impossible for you to tackle them all so you will have to choose to serve others in an area that you are passionate about. Otherwise, it will be hard to follow through.
For Joshua Becker he found his cause helping people simplify and then from there he was able to start a foundation to help orphans.
What problems are you aware of that particularly touch your heart? Have you become interested in sustainability or ethical fashion? Do you feel that you could teach something useful to others? Can you take a more vested interest in your friends and helping them? Big or small, what matters to you?
When you find the thing that matters to you, you will find out how to serve others in a way you can truly put your energy into.
Think About What You Are Good At
Caring about something isn’t always enough to make a difference. In fact, it often isn’t near enough. But if you have a skill that you can attach to the thing that touches your heart you are well on your way.
Ask yourself; “How can I serve others? What are my skills?”
Are you a writer? Write about it! Use a blog or social media to help people see what is happening and how you can help a group of people who are dealing with it.
Are you a business person? Perhaps you can start a non-profit or charity. Do you have money? Maybe you can donate to a charity that is helping people.
Are you a teacher? Do you have medical training? Can you build or make stuff? Maybe you can find a way to volunteer that will serve others who need your talents and abilities.
Even if you don’t have an amazing skill, are you a good listener? Can you cook or make a phone call or remember someone’s anniversary? If you are looking for ways to serve others there is always something that you are good at that can help someone else.
Take the time to think about who you would like to help and how you can offer something of yourself in the effort. When you attach your abilities to your passion you will be able to know how to serve others in amazing ways.
From having manners every day to making a dinner for your elderly neighbor to helping orphans around the world, every little one of the ways to serve others you find will make you a happiness giver.
Learn How to Serve Others and Have True Happiness
We all want our lives to be focused on things that matter. Deep down we all understand that constantly pursuing our own happiness leaves us with little fulfillment in life. And we also know that when we help others we gain self-worth and happiness.
We thrive on community and our happiness is directly related to the strength of our relationships. That’s why giving to others and giving with joy is the secret of true happiness.
At the end of your life you don’t want others to talk about your shoe collection or how great you were at sports. You will want to be remembered as a happiness giver.
That’s why now is the time to break through your fears, think about who you want to help, think about your own skills and combine it all when you find out how to serve others and act on it!
To learn more about how you can serve others I highly recommend you grab Joshua Becker’s book Things That Matter.
How do you serve others? Share in the comments below!
To Serve Others You Need Time
I think that the biggest thing that holds us all back from helping one another is time. We feel that we do not have enough time or energy to help others once all of our responsibilities are cared for.
That’s where minimalism comes in. Minimalism is all about focusing on the things that matter and getting rid of the rest. If you want to have more time to help others and you need to simplify find out how to enjoy the minimalist life style with Doable Simplicity!
Thank you for the great ideas Jessie. You’ve inspired me to get a better focus on serving others. I am reading The Art of Happiness and in the book, the Dali Lama says the best way to use your time is to serve others and when you can’t always do that, at least do no harm to others. Good inspirational words and great ideas in your article.
Thank you!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this article! Thanks for commenting 🙂