“Shut up and help. Stop focusing on yourself and help someone else.”
While it was a bit of a slap in the face at the time, this is one of the most valuable pieces of advice I’ve ever received when I was just getting sober.
And it comes in handy still.
I know you’re overwhelmed with a million & fourteen things to do. I know your task manager is where great ideas go to die. I know you don’t know what you’re doing and you’ll never feel good enough.
It’s time to stop beating yourself up and start helping someone else.
Wether it’s a client, a friend, your mother or the old man at the grocery who’s counting change to buy his lunch, if you want to feel better about your life shut up and help someone.
Here are three ways to interrupt your patterns & change your mindset:
- Call or text three people and ask how they were doing or tell them I love them *with no other agenda*. Do not complain about your problems, do not tell them how awful everything is, do not ask for feedback or advice. Ask about them and their life so you can shift focus from “what’s wrong” to “how can I serve?”
- Imagine you can beam happiness into the world. Think of three people and send love and light at them; imagine them smiling and happy. Doesn’t matter who – your office mates, a friend, that guy you dated in high school… just visualize a beam of pure happiness and you get to bless someone with its radiance.
- Practice random acts of kindness. Pay for a strangers meal, leave a 50% tip, send a letter by snail mail to an old friend, help someone carry their groceries, share something uplifting on social media. Don’t call attention to it and don’t brag about it. Bonus points if no one knows you’re the one who did it!
Are you an entrepreneur? Apply the same strategies to your business! Not sure what to do next to grow? Help someone! Solve a problem, give away something of value, make someone feel heard. The businesses that create the most impact focus on serving their clients, not selling their products or services.
Some of these strategies may seem silly to you, but I dare you to try them anyway.
When you are in a pattern of fear or overwhelm, you don’t make the best decisions.
Break the pattern, walk away, and do something for someone else. Focus on service and you’ll never regret it.
Once you’re in the right mindset, you’ll be back and better than ever.
Originally published at katebagoy.com