I received an email from a very nice person seeking advice and help
about their future career choice. I replied saying that I don’t usually give
advice because of how complex individuals can be. One piece of advice that
might work for one person, may be detrimental to another. However, what I did
do was speak from my own experiences – hoping that themes within them apply to
their personal situation. I noted that what I wrote could be utter rubbish!
The email correspondence between us helped me to get some of my thoughts down on paper. And, I would like to put them up on my blog just in case someone else finds value in my experiences. This is the third of five blog posts.
As much as the motivational videos try to make it out that you can go it alone through force of will, I have most definitely found that you can’t. The strongest motivational mood state I have experienced is when I’ve been trying to help someone else. The emotional reward is even stronger when a group of us work together to try to help someone or a group of people I care about. The emotional reward I receive lasts, it pervades through the years.
I might add that sometimes helping others isn’t easy. Many people in need of help will, quite logically, be in a complex mood state. This is where an emotional education (more specifically the ability to actively listen) is essential. I think the easiest way to learn this is through counselling – they are the best listeners on the planet.
Not much is written about how to help people. Therefore, I have had quite a few friends that would volunteer at a soup kitchen or give money. While this helps on the surface, what’s really required and what would have helped me, are highly skilled or uniquely skilled people. Taking the time to learn a skill to a high degree and then using it to help others is, I have found, a very rewarding experience. What I would’ve given for a highly skilled person to help me when I was really sick (that I didn’t have to pay for).
