Yea, I know what you’re thinking, those companies looking for volunteers are just looking for free labor. I think if you’re thinking that, you might need a little attitude adjustment… There are plenty of organizations, mainly non-profits, out there that are looking for people like you and me to give back a little to their communities. Sure, we put in lots of hard work getting to where we are today so why should we give away our services for free? Well, I guess that’s the first reason why volunteerism is hard; we need to embrace empathy and realize that sometimes to keep organizations going, we need to be part of their survival so they can be there for the next generation and generations to come. I really want the environmental farm to be there 100+ years from now.
There’s another lesson hidden in volunteering. Becoming the life long learner that so many of us aspire to be. Taking an opportunity to do something that isn’t in your wheelhouse so you can expand your own knowledge, you just can’t put a price on that – you get back so much more than what you put in.
What makes it really hard? There are so many opportunities to take advantage of once you do decided to commit to volunteering that it is easy to overcommit. Don’t overcommit. There are two things you’re going to find out pretty quick after you sign up for a volunteer gig:
- You don’t know everything you thought there was to know in a given area
- To do this well, you need to treat it just like any other job
Go learn something new. Go get schooled in the things you thought you knew. Make time for giving back by doing something you truly love doing. Let this experience be part of life’s little adventures.
