Volunteer for Happiness
“Volunteer for happiness?” Can anyone do this? What does this really mean? And why am I writing about this today?
Let me answer these questions in reverse order.
First, I am writing about volunteering for happiness today, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA, because today is a fitting day to remember all the volunteers who stepped in to help others following those attacks. Some of those volunteers made the ultimate sacrifice — with their lives. And everyone who volunteered made some sort of sacrifice to help their fellow human beings.
Some volunteering is hard. Some volunteering is easy. All volunteering helps — if even just in a small way.
Today I got to do some super-easy volunteering — nothing sacrificial or hard — on behalf of Houston’s second annual 5K race in honor of National Recovery Month here in the United States.
The race was Run for Recovery, and I got to volunteer at a water station. I say “got to” because volunteering at a water station — the first time that I had done this — was a long-time dream. Seriously!
The Value of Volunteering
I wrote in Mental Tricks for Endurance Runners and Walkers about the value of volunteering at foot races to help you with your own races. But now I want to talk to you about another reason to volunteer at foot races:
You should volunteer for happiness!
So what does this really mean? There are at least three words or phrases to take us to the answer:
- Selflessness
- Selfishness
- Owning It
Let’s look at each of these.
Selflessness
Selflessness is about putting others first. When you volunteer, you put others ahead of your own convenience, sleep, or other wants or needs. When you do, you spread happiness.
Selfishness
Selfishness is a “dirty word” to many people. But what I mean by “selfishness” here is simply looking after yourself. Volunteering can be rewarding — from simply eliciting a smile or laugh to letting someone know that he or she is not alone — and it is this reward that can renew happiness in your own life.
Owning It
My personal trainer likes to remind me that I have to “own” my core exercises, that I have to “own” my hydration, and so on. What she means by this is that I have to make a commitment to myself to completing those exercises, that daily hydration, and so on, and then take responsibility for following through on that commitment. What she also means is that I have to embrace these activities as part of my daily life.
So what I mean by the “it” in “owning it” is happiness. Each of us must own happiness.
- We have to make a commitment to ourselves to be happy.
- We have to take responsibility for following through on that commitment.
- We have to embrace the activities that support this commitment.
In other words…
Each of us must volunteer for happiness.
When it comes to your happiness as an endurance runner or walker, you have to commit to, take responsibility for, and embrace the idea of being happy around and sharing that feeling with your fellow athletes on the road or trail.
You Can Volunteer
If you volunteer for anything, at any time, anywhere, for anyone, then I honor you.
If you are an endurance runner or walker and have not yet volunteered to support a foot race, then I urge you to try it. Look up online a race that interests you. Find the race director’s contact information, and ask about volunteering. And then get involved. The joy that you spread as a volunteer, as well as the joy that volunteering will renew in you, will rejuvenate your enthusiasm for endurance running or walking.
Your Turn
For what event have you volunteered, and how did this affect your happiness and that of others? For what event are you contemplating volunteering, and how do you anticipate that this will spread happiness? I’d like to know, and other runners and walkers could benefit from reading your stories or plans. So please post a comment below.
