“Have I done any good in the world today?” Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad? If not, I have failed in deed. Has anyone’s burden been lighter today because I was willing to share? Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way? When they needed my help was I there?” Will L. Thompson invites us to contemplate these questions and to use them as guidelines to evaluate our performance day by day. He wrote these lines as text for a beautiful hymn “Have I Done Any Good?”. He wrote them over 100 years ago. They are still good today, even more so today.
What is your world? It starts with you, members of your family, members of your community, coworkers etc. When you take time to contemplate the gifts you have been given, these questions should be used to help reflect daily on how you are using these gifts and for what purpose they were given to you. As I began the third quarter in the game of life, I have decided to make every day count. Here is how I do it.
I made a decision that every day I will do something that adds value to myself and I will do something that adds value to at least one human being. At the end of the day, I ask myself these 2 simple questions. Did I help someone in need? Did I do something that lifted someone spirit? If I can’t answer YES to one or both of these questions, I just say to myself that I wasted a day.
Too often we worry about how long we will live. Our focus should be on how well we are using these precious days and hours that we have before us.
Recently I shared this goal with a friend.
He told me this is a tall order, Illens.
I responded, yes you are correct. But it is very much doable. I don’t wait until I can do big things that will help a lot of people. I focus on simple things that I can do that make a difference in the lives of a few. I can share a smile. I can offer a genuine compliment. I can do simple acts of service for others – just be kind to others.
About service, let me share a simple principle. When you offer someone something that they don’t need, you seek to serve yourself. When you help someone with something they need, you serve them.
The other question is that how do we do that in the workplace? The answer is also simple. We can start with ourselves. Every day we can start the day with an attitude of gratitude. You can tell yourself you are grateful that you have a job. You are grateful that you can help someone. You can also use the Maxwell’s Rule of Five; Every day I: 1) Value people, 2) Think of ways to add value to people, 3) Look for ways to add value to people, 4) Add value to people, 5) Encourage others to add value to people.
I am sure you have done some good in the world today. I invite you to continue to live a life of abundance and make your world a better place for you and others.
Illens Dort is a Certified Speaker, Coach, and Trainer with The John Maxwell Team. Thank you for your time!!! Illens Dort – author of Thinking and Acting with a Compassionate Heart. To buy a copy go to https://www.amazon.com/author/Illensdort.