Two years ago, I started working for the charity I now work for. Two years feels like a lifetime of change. Anything that could have changed has changed. All the highs and lows have come and gone, and I feel like a whirlwind has lifted me up and transported me to another life.
When I first started working here, it was all about the charity. That's all I cared about. I did not have a glamorous job, nor a highly paid one, but it didn't matter. I was working for this charity who directly help people. I was a passionate supporter; a devoted worker.
Somewhere along the way, I forgot what I was working towards. I started focusing only on my job and forging a career path. I had forgotten what I was supporting, and how my work helped in the long run.
People often say how cool it must be to work where I do, even though their eyes glaze over with boredom when I mention that I'm an IT geek by profession. For them, though, it is the charity aspect that matters. I have become so used to this that I stopped paying attention. Yesterday, though, someone asked me if it was good for the soul knowing that what I do directly helps people. It made me really think.
How often do we consider how our work, or whatever it is that we do in life, affects others?
There is an old phrase: Do Good, Feel Good. It's simple: help others or do a good deed and it will make you feel positive. There is even research to show that doing nice things can improve health. My job is in IT but I help support an organisation that does fantastic work. But I'm not sure that's enough.
I once read about people who do a random act of kindness every day. They make it a challenge: How can I help someone today? It could be anything, like giving someone your part used parking ticket, or even something as simple as a smile to someone who looks sad (this, so I discovered today, can get you into an interesting situation...). I have tried to incorporate this into my life every now and then, but I think it's time to restart it.
It's not just what we do in life that matters, but why we do it and how we go about it.
When I first started working here, it was all about the charity. That's all I cared about. I did not have a glamorous job, nor a highly paid one, but it didn't matter. I was working for this charity who directly help people. I was a passionate supporter; a devoted worker.
Somewhere along the way, I forgot what I was working towards. I started focusing only on my job and forging a career path. I had forgotten what I was supporting, and how my work helped in the long run.
People often say how cool it must be to work where I do, even though their eyes glaze over with boredom when I mention that I'm an IT geek by profession. For them, though, it is the charity aspect that matters. I have become so used to this that I stopped paying attention. Yesterday, though, someone asked me if it was good for the soul knowing that what I do directly helps people. It made me really think.
How often do we consider how our work, or whatever it is that we do in life, affects others?
There is an old phrase: Do Good, Feel Good. It's simple: help others or do a good deed and it will make you feel positive. There is even research to show that doing nice things can improve health. My job is in IT but I help support an organisation that does fantastic work. But I'm not sure that's enough.
I once read about people who do a random act of kindness every day. They make it a challenge: How can I help someone today? It could be anything, like giving someone your part used parking ticket, or even something as simple as a smile to someone who looks sad (this, so I discovered today, can get you into an interesting situation...). I have tried to incorporate this into my life every now and then, but I think it's time to restart it.
It's not just what we do in life that matters, but why we do it and how we go about it.
On the tube today, I offered a woman on crutches a seat today. She said "no".
ReplyDeleteI don't think that counts.
Lol. Why doesn't it count? You tried, which is all that matters. :-)
ReplyDelete