Only 1 more Self-Care Thursday! I have had a ball sharing ideas with you about ways that you can take care of yourself. I hope that you have enjoyed it!
Today I am going to share an idea that may not really sound like a form of self care. But stick with me all will be clear in the end. (Said with a magical hand wave.)
Service yep service is a great way to take care of yourself and help others at the same time. Now I know what you are thinking – Really I have to think about helping others when I am barely keeping my head above water in my own life. They just need to take care of their own problems.
I know, I get it! I got so consumed with anxiety during my life that I couldn’t look around. I was just trying to survive. I closed myself and my life off to a very small group of people. But then I started feeling better and I realized that there is life outside of myself. As I began to realize that I also realized that my problems seemed smaller when I would reach out to others. (I am also sharing this because I need the reminder to start reaching out again!)
Now I am not going to tell you that someone has it worse than you, so you should be grateful for what you have. Because I REALLY HATE that saying. It is true that life is hard for everyone but saying that other people have it harder discounts your struggles. It is like saying your problems don’t matter. And they DO!
Ok so why service? Because it is awesome! Just thinking about what you can do to help someone else makes you feel better. Have you ever noticed that? Even when I was in the middle of the worst of the anxiety I could distract myself thinking about other people. I was lucky enough to have been asked to help with the young woman group in my church during this time. I say lucky because they were AWESOME and I miss them very much. But also because during this time I would not have looked outside of myself for others to serve. I was “forced” to do service.
Whenever I started to get stressed or overwhelmed in my own life I was able to ask myself. “What do the young women need? What can I do to help them?” I may not get an answer and I may not have done anything right that second but just the thought of what I could do moved my brain enough that I didn’t have an anxiety attack.
Now you are asking what can I do? My life is busy enough how can I add one more thing into it? The answer is you don’t have to!
You can do random acts of kindness. Maybe just tape a dollar to a vending machine with a note saying the treat is on you. Do you have some extra money? Pay for the car behind you in the drive thru. (Disclaimer: I have never done this and yes it does make me nervous because what-if they have a huge order!? Maybe ask for their total first.) You can always go on Pinterest and search Random Acts of Kindness. You can find great ideas and cute notes that go with them. (But don’t let the extra work dissuade you from doing the service! Just do it without the cute note. That is how I roll!)
If you are ready for a little bit bigger project you can always go to Volunteermatch.org. This is a great website that has a ton of volunteer opportunities. They even have some that are online only. So you don’t have to leave your house. YAY!!!
If you know how to run a sewing machine you can help out at Days for Girls. This is a great nonprofit that makes reusable feminine hygiene kits for girls in developing countries. Girls miss school during their periods because they don’t have any feminine hygiene products. I love projects like these. You can fit them into your schedule and you are lifting an entire community because you are educating their women. “You educate a man you educate a man. You educate a woman you educate a generation.” Brigham Young
These are just a couple of ideas that you can use to begin venturing out into the world of service. I know that at times is seems overwhelming to even think about reaching out in service. I promise you, though, that as you do you will be blessed! Will you join me in doing one act of service this week?