Volunteering in 2019. Why?
Reasons to get started volunteering in today’s hectic world
8 seconds.
That’s how long the average person’s attention spans. Goldfishes reportedly have 9. Let that sink in for a moment, pun not intended. With so many things vying for yours — think Instagram, YouTube or Cat Videos — why volunteer? Why even read this?
A common perception of volunteering is the aidance of others; spending time helping beneficiaries. But there’s much more to that, especially for the volunteers themselves — for YOU.
As Millennials, or Gen-X/Y/Z (or whatever they label us), at some point in life, we’ll get lost playing catch-up in the hustle and bustle of a hectic, fast-paced environment. In an increasingly interconnected world, we’re losing much of our human touch, our sense of self, oftentimes questioning our reason for existence: ‘Who are we? Why are we here? What for?’
It’s not our fault. Nor is it anyone else’s; Just a consequence of insanely rapid changes in lifestyle, brought about by major strides in development.
As many of us struggle to even help ourselves, helping others may seem counter-intuitive, if not far-fetched. But as absurd as it sounds, doing exactly that may well be the best way to help ourselves.
Mental Health? Better together.
Yes, I understand. Our generation is not faring very well in terms of health. Mentally especially.
High stress, heaping workloads, hiking prices.
Pressure. Pressured. Pressures.
Some may argue our ‘sheltered’ upbringing is the root of our problems. Maybe it’s true. But the fact remains; despite improvements in overall quality of life, mental illness and suicide rates appears to be on the rise too.
‘What’s any of this got to do with volunteering?’ you might wonder.
No, I’m not proposing a one-stop solution. But life is already tough as it is, and we should do what we can to lighten the load. Volunteering can help with that, for ourselves, as well as others.
As you embark on your volunteering journey, you have the opportunity to meet like-minded people. Over time, those social interactions may well turn into new friends, whom together, may grow into a community. Not just any community, however. It’s one comprised of REAL people (no offense to online communities) who take joy in helping another. Imagine the social support pouring out from such a place. A potential place of peace in midst of all these noise.
Then we have the ‘Helper’s High.’
Ever had those warm fuzzy feeling where you feel good after doing something for someone, and they smiled as they thanked you? No?
If not, you ought to try it, at least once.
‘How does it feel’, you ask? Well, ‘good’ can be pretty subjective, but you’ll know once you’ve experienced it.
If you had, why not have more of it?
Better yet, why not get some more friends and spread the happiness?
“Alexa, play ‘Heal The World!’”
Career? What even.
If meeting a new community of like-minded people isn’t appealing enough, there’s also the possibility that your network expansion may potentially translate into career opportunities. You never know who knows who, right?
On top of that, with the volume of papyrus-scroll armed, mortarboard helmeted job-hunters (better known as fresh grads) snowballing over the years, your volunteering experiences may just be that extra nudge in securing an interview, or better yet, getting THE offer. After all, between all those qualified candidates, don’t you think more humane ones have higher appeal?
Self-Discovery; Who, you?
Most importantly, volunteerism is a wonderful compass for all of us who are lost in this rough sea of life. If you have yet to discover your raison d’être, why not make helping others the tentative direction?
As Gandhi put it: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Maybe, along the way, through your helping, learning and interactions with others, you might just find what you’re looking for.
Or maybe, if towards the end of your life, you have yet to find your ‘reason of existence’, maybe, just maybe, for all that we know, THAT was your “life purpose” all along; to help others — to leave the world a better place than when you found it.
Endgame; Cue credits.
Whilst the concept of pure altruism is debatable, we’ll leave that topic for another day. Of course it’s nice if more people can extend help on a compassionate basis, but if you can be both the benefactor AND the beneficiary at the same time, it’ll be a Win-Win scenario, and my, isn’t that also wonderful?
To conclude my volunteerism-‘preach’-pitch;
8 seconds of attention span is what happened when Darwinism met Technology.
But 8 seconds of goodwill is enough to change the world.
As a popular saying goes: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
In that short time-frame before your attention shifts, will you decide to bantu others and take the step towards a better YOU, for a better world?
What are you waiting for? Let’s take action today!
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are solely of my own (the author), and does not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.
