In spite of the holiday blues that I wrote about last week, there is an upside to this season.
Generosity
Heartwarming generosity.
One of the departments where I served had partnered with Toys for Tots, a local radio station, and other departments. Each year we came together and poured our hearts into making sure that children got gifts for Christmas.
One year my daughters and I selected names. The card we got had first name, age, and sex of the child and a short wish list.
It was great fun to go shopping and find gifts that fulfilled those wishes.
I asked my daughter what she remembers from the adventure.
Elinore was eight years old when we did that. She found an adorable doll for a little girl she will probably never meet.
Now, at forty, she still remembers how good it felt. She liked the feeling of being able to help someone else. It still warms her to remember that she was able to give that way.
Compassion Satisfaction
Research on Compassion Fatigue indicates the counter-balance to the negative spiral is Compassion Satisfaction. That’s the good feeling we get when we help someone.
Humans are hard-wired to feel good when we are of service to others.
If you are struggling to find anything you like about your work, or see that struggle around you and don’t want to go there, here are some suggestions you can incorporate into your daily habits.
- Notice!! When you get something right, pay attention to that. You help people every day, notice the good you do. Write it down!
- At the end of the day list at least three ways that you helped other people today.
- For your five minutes of silence, intentionally recall one or more of those feel-good moments. Notice how it feels in your body. Keep that feeling alive in your body for as long as you can. Come back to it as often as you like.
Simple.
Five minutes a day.
Be generous with your own well-being
Go out there and help people. It lights you up if you let it.
If you find it difficult to instill a healthy habit into your life, consider getting some help with it. Watch this newsletter for an announcement about how you can access help.
Your life is worth your effort.
