Do not forget that a key element of the 365 Commitment is serving others. When you consider your list you should always be pondering, praying, meditating on who has been placed in your life that you could serve. Service to others is powerful and there are many reasons.
The primary reason is that it is just the right and best thing to do with your time. That is what the 365 Commitment is all about – ending each day knowing that we did all that we could. Helping and serving another person is probably the most noble cause that I can think of.
Serving others is not always complicated, does not always involve money – many times it is just saying the right thing at the right time. Being available to talk to during their difficult time, or lending a much needed hand at a moment in life when that person could use a lift. When you actively seek to bless the lives of others in small ways – your are fundamentally altering your view of your day.
Sometimes being wrapped up too much in selfish, greedy ambitions we can lose sight of reality, or what is really going on around us. We have tunnel vision so to speak. When you actively try to help another, this forces you to come up for air and gain a much needed perspective on your own reality. When you return to your problem or ambition then you will now have perspective. Who knows maybe there is a God and that person that you were inspired to serve will have some connection to what you are trying to achieve, or at least give you the perspective you needed to see a different path.
Serving others also just feels good, in a way that you cannot achieve in any other way. Consider service to others as fuel. The more you help another, the more you will feed that inner strength. When we start to view ourselves in this light and recognize ourselves as having a potential impact on another person we start to see ourselves differently. We start to see ourselves as an agent for good, and I do not think there is anything more powerfully motivating than that!
You are covered by almost every major religion, and even some solid science on this concept – so go give it a try. Put aside your own self for a few minutes and go help someone else for a while.
Guy Reams (106)
365 Member