I use to think that serving others only meant volunteering at a food shelter during Thanksgiving and Christmas. That was until my sophomore year at Ohio University. I got involved in several organizations that served the community near my campus in a variety of different ways. After graduating, I wasn’t as involved in my community, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t still serving others.
Fortunately, I am able to work in a field that I love. Even still, I too experience the typical Monday blues. I have my moments where I dream of what it would be like to simply travel the world and have an infinite reservoir of money to fund my explorations. Point is, even if you are doing something you love, there are challenges that come with the everyday hustle and bustle of life. One thing that helps me stay positive on days that I feel overwhelmed with the weight of responsibilities, is to remember the reason why I do what I do. I love giving a voice to the timid and helping ease the stress of navigating through thelegal system. Lawyers, like firefighters, police officers and doctors are public servants. The people I serve are my "why." The "why" or "who" is what motivates and inspires me to continue to push forward when I sometimes feel like giving up. So, WHO are you serving?
“consider what you do every day as an act of service to your family rather than a duty”
You may view the job you do everyday as more of a duty and less as an act of service. If you ask many people why they go to work everyday they will tell you because they are an adult and that's what "adulating" is. But what if you consider what you do every day as an act of service to your family rather than a duty? I remember when I first got married. I was so happy to be married to the love of my life and I welcomed all of my “wifely” duties with open arms. (I know we as a society are moving away from gender roles, but I embrace them lol). I wanted to cook for him, clean up after him and wait on him hand and foot. Well after about 3 months of being married, the euphoria started to disappear. After a long day at work, cooking and picking up after my husband was the last thing on my mind. I found myself starting to complain and nag because I was feeling burnt out. As you can imagine, my husband was completely confused by my sudden change in attitude, lol.
Complaining didn’t change anything. So I decided to stop looking at the things I did for my husband as a “wifely duty” and instead as an act of service. I promise you my whole attitude changed. In fact, from time to time my husband would start to do things around the house without me asking! Go figure.
Do you find yourself getting burnt out by all of the things you “have” to do? Try looking at your daily tasks as acts of service to others, albeit your family, customers, neighbors, etc., and see how that will re-frame your perspective.