You’re busy. You don’t feel there’s much more you can do at work or at home. But you want to do more, and feel better doing it.
Take an hour this week and volunteer. Yes, give your time away.
Volunteering of course aids our community, but it also opens us up to a greater appreciation of our own lives, which enhances our motivation to do what we do the best that we can.
Michelle runs an office supply store in a Boston suburb. She works hard to keep the business thriving, and at the end of the day she needs a break. What does she do? She heads to the local ymca, where she is a volunteer.
“It’s challenging and exhilarating,” Michelle says of her volunteer efforts to raise money to support Y programs. “I do it because I love it. I have been given a lot in this world and like to give a little back.”
Even though she doesn’t have a lot of free time, investing some of it in the Y actually makes Michelle feel better. “It reduces stress and gives me a real boost, because when you give time to a worthy cause you feel so good about yourself and the world in general.”
Volunteers are 25 percent more satisfied with their jobs, have a better work ethic, and are more persistent in working toward long-term goals and rewards.
Johnson, Beebe, Mortimer, and Snyder 1998