Posted On 22 Jun 2019

Have you ever thought of community service?  Being a contributing member of your community? What if being a contributing member of your community would be good for reducing your stress?

Lately, I have been asked, “what do you do when you are bored with work but you cannot leave yet?” More than likely the reason people cannot leave work yet is that they still need their monthly paycheck…which is OK.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but the one thing that is not right is being “bored”.  When you’re bored, there’s a sense of something missing…and it could turn into unnecessary stress.

Years back when I was contemplating “what next?” for my career, a friend of mine said, “whatever you do, make sure it’s something that makes you jump out of bed.”  Since then, this advice is something I’ve kept at the forefront of what I do. If I’m going to do something, it’s going to make me jump out of bed daily.  The day that it doesn’t it’s time to look for something else.

SO, WHAT ARE THE CHOICES?

First thing is to make a list of what excites you. Number your list from 1 to 10.  Pay attention to how you are numbering because you’ll only be keeping the first three items.  Next, make a list of what you could do that includes activities with your top three excitements. Remember, money follows joy; joy does not follow money!

Next is to determine if you have all the skills needed for what else you could do.  For example, you could start a business or start a second career.

Community service (aka volunteering) is a great way to learn new skills and network with people in the area/industry.  Did you know that your community needs you?  Yes!  There are rivers and beaches are need to be cleaned up, schools and children need help, or you could even be a book…yes, a human book which means that you get to talk about your life/career experiences.  Can you imagine being in the reference footnote in a child’s term paper?

Performing community service is also a good way to find your next job!

BENEFITS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE

Giving back to the community via community service provides many benefits.  One of those benefits is that you will find yourself and your joy.  You will learn gratitude for yourself, what you do and what you have.  Your emotional and physical health will also improve. You won’t have time to be bored.

Is now your time to jump out of bed?