Your Infinite Potential – Through Helping Others

I have been reflecting on all the people who have helped me in my career. Acts of kindness that I have remembered over time. Some things may not have taken a lot of effort but ended up having a big impact. Like the barista who must have realised I was having a rough day – and immediately brightened it by offering me a coffee for free.  Or, more significantly, a friend who recommended my services to an organisation that resulted in almost two years of work for me. A few minutes of her time, but the fact she did it, and was such an advocate, made a huge difference to me. Some help however, takes more effort. For instance, in my first job as a consultant, many years ago, someone I greatly respected began to informally mentor me. Not by trying to shape me into someone else, but by bringing out the best in me. This mentoring has continued over the years, even after we no longer worked for the same company.  

I am so appreciative of all the people who have inadvertently or intentionally helped me during my career that I would like to pass this type of support onto others. If I can, in some small or larger ways, show my thanks to everyone who has backed me by helping to ‘make someone’s day’ or to helping them grow and develop, I am paying forward the goodwill extended to me.

To quote Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give” 

You may yourself have felt a rush after doing a good deed. Have you ever noticed you were more relaxed after a day of volunteering? Did you ever feel motivated to do good after thinking about the last time you helped someone?

There is actually scientific evidence that humans are pre-disposed to behave empathetically towards each other. In The Altruistic Brain: How We Are Naturally Good, neuroscientist Donald Pfaff describes the neuronal mechanisms that prompt us – without thinking – to offer help, display kindness, and even risk our well-being to mitigate another’s distress. His position is that evolution favoured altruism because it was crucial to our survival as a group.

And fMRI scans have shown that generous behaviour really does make you happier. Research by Zurich neuroscientists has found that even just promising to be more generous can trigger a change in our brains that makes us happier. 

Following this logic, we can reach towards our Infinite Potential, not only by focusing on ourselves and what we want to achieve, but by focusing on others. However, if we are only giving for self-related reasons it will not bring benefits: only when giving is truly altruistic, driven from compassion towards and connection with others, are individuals more likely to benefit.

Helping others is key to our success

Happiness:

Giving things away and helping others has a significant positive effect on our happiness. It turns out that giving — far more than receiving — is a surprisingly potent force whose impact reverberates across an entire lifetime, nourishing health and happiness in astonishing ways. That's the message of Dr Stephen Post's Why Good Things Happen to Good People, which weaves science with moving real-life stories. Post’s institute has funded scientific research on the life-enhancing benefits of caring. When 200,000 people across 136 different countries were surveyed about the effects their charitable actions had upon them, happiness was an outcome in every continent.

Health:

There’s more good news. The gifts of giving are not just psychological — they’re also physiological. Researchers have found giving advice, money, food, support or aid to others is related to reduced blood pressure and enhanced sleep.

Giving has also been linked to lower rates of heart disease and it may even help you live longer. In a recent analysis studying the effects of volunteering in over 49,000 senior citizens, volunteering was found to reduce mortality risk by 24 per cent, even after adjusting for variables such as physical health, age, and gender.

Improves Morale:

Developing and supporting your colleagues will make you be positive and appreciated. Closer relationships with the people you spend all day with will result as people are drawn closer to you and care about you. A supportive environment undoubtedly makes for a better working atmosphere. It helps to create a sense of community and team spirit, which works as a reminder that everyone is striving towards one unified goal. This is a concept that can get lost over time when people are focusing solely on their own respective workloads.

Leadership Quality:

As you invest in your colleagues, you learn and benefit from increased leadership skills. You will be a behind-the-scenes leader who is building your organisation through the support and development of others – instead of just building yourself. The respect you earn makes you influential – no matter your official professional role. This behaviour is congruent with the new leadership model that values collaboration and mutual support over competition and provides the opportunity to model how to create value jointly.

How?

We all know the great feeling of helping others – but doing it consistently can provide challenges, as we get caught up in our own problems and issues. However, making a habit of doing good will provide long term benefits for all concerned.

There are some organisations you can check out to help give you some suggestions of how to bring more altruistic behaviour into your everyday life. The  Random Acts of Kindness Foundation  gives inspirational ideas and stories to help people spread kindness.  Pay it Forward is a global initiative that exists to make a difference by creating a huge ripple of kindness felt across the world. They believe that small acts, when multiplied by millions of people can literally change the world for the better — and this year April 28th, 2018 is international Pay it Forward Day where they are aiming to inspire over 10 million acts of kindness around the world. Check it out and get involved.

Specific ways we can look for opportunities to help someone at work might be:

·      Listening, when they need an ear

·      Sharing your knowledge or resources

·      Finding out what is valuable to them

·      Making them aware of an opportunity

·      Providing helpful feedback

·      Being an advocate

·      Providing recognition

·      Volunteering to help out if they need it

·      Unblocking obstructions

·      Even something simple, like bringing them a cup of coffee or tea

What's stopping you?

?Diane is Head of People Development at Newton Europe

This is the 7th in the Series: Your Infinite Potential:

1. Your Infinite Potential: Living to the Max
2. Your Infinite Potential: Prune for New Growth
3. Your Infinite Potential: The Power of Morning Ritual
4. Your Infinite Potential: Lies Outside Your Comfort Zone
5. Your Infinite Potential: Making the Most of Your Time

Your Infinite Potential: Are you Holding You Back?