If You’re Feeling Stressed, Volunteer

At times, it can seem as if you’re on a constant treadmill at
work There are deadlines to meet, people to consult,
relationships to cultivate You may feel as if you’re under
consistent stress, but you don’t know how to manage it
effectively You could always quit your job, but your next
position might be just as stressful
Stress can take a tremendous toll on both body and spirit It
can leave you feeling fatigued, making it hard for you to
concentrate You may be more susceptible to illness as a result
of your stress, resulting in increased absenteeism from work
You may be more prone to getting into accidents, and you may
feel as if you’re on edge much of the time
There are a number of strategies you can employ to deal with
stress But perhaps one of the most rewarding is to engage in
volunteer work There is something so comforting about donating
your time to helping someone else The mere act can elevate your
spirits, helping you to better cope with the stressors in your
life You are giving a tremendous gift–the gift of your time
and talent And you find your reward in the smiles on the faces
of the people (or animals) you’ve assisted
If you’re considering volunteering, you don’t want the search
for volunteer opportunities to be stressful Therefore, you’ll
want to make the process as simple as possible A good resource
can be your local newspaper Often, the Sunday paper lists
organizations that are looking for volunteers The newspaper
usually provides complete contact information, so you won’t have
to hunt around for a phone number
Deciding which organization to volunteer for can be a
challenge There are so many causes worthy of our attention For
instance, there are groups that assist people in times of
disastergroups that lobby for research to find cures for
debilitating diseaseshomeless shelterssoup kitchensand
pet shelters You might also consider volunteering at a school,
where teaching assistants and mentors are always appreciated
In order to decide where to put your talents to use, you might
ask yourself some questions For instance, how much time can you
realistically devote to volunteer work? Are you limited to doing
your volunteering in the evenings or on weekends? How much of
your own money can you spend in connection with your volunteer
work? What causes are the most important to you? The answers to
these questions could help you to choose the volunteer
opportunity that’s right for you
Next, you’ll want to tour the volunteer facility You want to
get a sense of whether you will enjoy the work If you find that
the other volunteers are difficult to work with, it could simply
produce more stress in your life Usually, an initial tour will
help to give you a good idea of what it would be like to
actually volunteer at the facility Also, be sure to find out if
the organization offers training to its volunteers This could
be quite important, especially if you have only a nodding
acquaintance with the work of the organization
Volunteering does require commitment, and you might be
wondering if that commitment will add additional stress to your
life Actually, the opposite will probably be true If you find
yourself being energized by your volunteer work, you’ll be able
to put your problems in better perspective Knowing the
difficulties that other people face can make your troubles seem
quite negligible in comparison However, you will want to make
sure that you don’t overcommit Devote only a limited amount of
time to your volunteer work, and resist the urge to do more
Otherwise, you could find yourself exhausted by the end of the
week and unable to perform well on your job
Volunteering can be one of the great joys in life It is a
privilege to serve other people, to make a difference in another
person’s life Through your volunteer work, you’ll be able to
meet people you might otherwise not have the opportunity to
encounter You can forge friendships which can last a lifetime
You’ll be contributing greatly to your neighborhood and your
society, and your little corner of the world should be brighter
because of it

Tags | absenteeism, accidents, animals, assistants, donating, faces, number, relationships, result, smiles, stress, stressors, sunday