How can I help?
I am haunted and powered each day by this question on a personal and professional level.
I feel “haunted” because my mind constantly generates ideas around helping yet I can only execute a small amount of them.
I feel “haunted” even though I know we are eternal beings because I share the albatross that humanity carries when we witness suffering. We want to alleviate pain for ourselves and others.
I feel “powered” because the ideas that we CAN act upon allow us to create and work with purpose. We want to do and build things that are meaningful. We want to truly serve and contribute.
I feel “powered” because ideas ignite our desire. With desire, we have energy or life force to take action! With desire, we can drum up our creativity and talents!
Knowing this, we can upgrade the question to: “How can I help in a way that ignites my desire and creativity?”
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11 Questions To Find Your Contribution
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Helping Yourself First
If you are unconscious or struggling, you’re not going to be much help to your friends, children or family.
For this reason, during the airplane safety demo, the airline attendant always reminds you to put on your oxygen mask first, before helping others.
So the first way to help, is to take care of your own basic needs like food, shelter and safety. If you can’t feed yourself or make rent the next month, then your stress is going to impact your mindset, your health and your behaviors.
When you are in “survival mode”, you are more prone to reactions that are propelled by the self-preservation instinct (fight or flight response) or the self-medication instinct (using substances, distractions or escapism).
You will also have a lot less energy to help others when your body and mind are on red alert!
After basic needs, the next step on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is to invest in your emotional health – building connections with your family, friends and yourself (self-esteem).
Learning how to take care of your heart is a huge step in helping the world because a person with healthy self-esteem does not want to cause harm to themselves or others.
Also, the more you move towards self-actualization, the more desire and energy you have to share resources and love!
Another way to move towards self-actualization is to use your challenges and pain to AWAKEN your inner spirit. This is done by finding the opportunities to feel and spread love in even the most dire situation.
Then you can access your higher self even when your basic needs are not fully met!
When you can sustain your compassion even under duress because of your self-awareness, you will have sublimated the needs of the reptilian brain in service of your heart.
Ironically, it’s also easier to meet your survival needs when you feel inner peace.
When your mind and body are calm enough to access its intuition, wisdom and resources, it’s easier to create and attract what you want or need.
Do you know how you alleviate your pain and facilitate your joy?
How do you alleviate your dangers, challenges, wounds and suffering?
How do you help yourself experience your beauty, talent, success and empowerment?
Juicy Ways to Help Humanity
In the internet and social media age, SO many valid projects, causes and people are seeking your attention. It can be overwhelming and actually block you from taking action.
You also realize that you have many skills and ways to help but it can be difficult to choose a career or project.
Before, most people followed in their family’s footsteps or worked in whatever industry their town could support.
But once we do have many options, our struggle is about finding a meaningful livelihood.
Do you know how you alleviate pain and facilitate joy for others?
How can you help people alleviate their dangers, challenges, wounds and suffering?
How can you help people experience their beauty, talent, success and empowerment?
11 Questions To Find Your Contribution
1. What suffering or pains have you transformed in your life and how?
2. Who are your kindred spirits – those who are suffering the same pains?
3. What kinds of joys have you cultivated and how?
4. Who are your kindred spirits – those who are seeking the same joys?
5. What kinds of tools & containers (technologies, spaces, events or experiences) are you passionate about?
6. Who are your kindred spirits – those who value the same containers?
7. What skills and talents do you enjoy using (and are good at)?
8. Who are your kindred spirits – those who wish to learn the same skills?
9. What topics are you voraciously learning about?
10. Who are your kindred spirits – those who wish to geek out on these same topics?
11. How could you combine your favorite containers, skills and wisdom to bring joy and relieve pain for your kindred spirits?
For example, I transformed my cynicism into compassion by seeking out the beauty and magic in humanity so my kindred spirits seek this too.
One of my greatest joys is learning and sharing what I learn so my kindred spirits are truly passionate students and teachers.
I love spaces that promote learning, self-examination and awareness so my tribe appreciates workshops, classes, circles and ceremonies.
I love using my creation skills (using my artistry and imagination) so many of my clients are artists, healers and entrepreneurs.
I love discovering the inner world’s impact on the outer world so my community is sincerely working on their inner development in order to benefit the planet.
A Reminder for the Helpers of the World
Whenever you feel drained, overwhelmed or burned out while helping, it is a sign that you must spend some time to alleviate your own pain and facilitate your own joy again.
Remember that you are NOT here to be a martyr, you are here to be a beacon of sustainable love!
If you are running on empty, you will have little resources or energy to contribute.
So please PLEASE don’t feel selfish if you want to help others but need to revive yourself first.
Getting yourself out of survival state and into a healthy place is the FIRST way you can help the world.
Grab Your Training of the Week:
11 Questions To Find Your Contribution
Right-click & choose “save link as” to download!