Helping Others Is Therapeutic

There is something that I learned a long time ago: helping others is therapeutic.

Many of us, and I am not just talking about drug users, tend to focus inward and individuate. It’s not bad to be an individual – in fact you must be yourself first before you can successfully be part of a group. Groups are made up of unique individuals, not robots. But to individuate means to cut yourself off from others and think only about how things are affecting you. That sounds very much like “selfish” but I know that people are not inherently selfish. Life can throw you a few curves and after a while, it seems that a dark cave and bucket of ice cream are the only way to survive.

But no matter how attractive that might seem, it’s the complete opposite of the right way to go. If you want to be happy, find someone to help. It is a spiritual experience to get out of your cave, see that there are others in this world who are likely worse off than you are and to know that you have done something small or large to aid their survival.

There is no substitute for the feeling that you were able to positively effect another person’s life. And every time you help another it adds to your power.

We have all had failures in helping others. Don’t let that failure get in your way. Believe me, in my work, I have met many interesting people, have helped several thousand families in one way or another and I assure you that I would not change that for the world. Even on the rare occasion that someone yells at me or hangs up on me, I don’t think for a minute that I should be doing something else. The rewards are just too good.

So set yourself a goal to help someone today and then set another goal tomorrow to help two people and so on. Let me know how that feels.

If you ever want to meet a really interesting person who selflessly helps others, visit Patrick at his blog. You will also see how one individual can make a big difference.