Do you ever get stuck in your own stuff? Can’t see through the fog of too much to do or too many emotions? I was reminded of that the other day and remembered something that helped me.

It started with a quote and led to an action, which took me to a change inside of my heart.

It was amazing.

You wouldn’t think it would work. Your first reaction might be no way that is the opposite of what I need.

So what was the quote? What was the action?

Let me tell you a story.

Back in 2007, I moved to Arizona. My husband took a job there and we didn’t know a soul. Although it was an exciting adventure I was heartbroken at being separated from my family and all I knew. Having been born & raised in Michigan, Arizona felt like another country to me. As time wore on my depressing outlook seemed to grow worse and worse.

One day I came across words that spoke to my heart.

“When you have a need, go invest in someone else.

God will meet your needs when you get your mind off of yourself & decide to go be a blessing.”

Joyce Meyer

At first, it was difficult to digest such an idea. It made no sense to me.

But the words came from someone who had steered me in the right direction before so I chose to listen.

I was not disappointed.

My first intentional action was inviting a newly hired coworker out to lunch. Doing that was mildly terrifying. I had never done that before.

I learned we had much in common. She had moved to Arizona from Colorado under similar circumstances as me. We both were grieving losses.  Sharing with each other felt deeply vulnerable yet we took the risk.

We became friends and walked alongside each other through the ups and downs that life continued to take us on.

But what if I had not taken that advice?

What if I had continued to nurse my wounds instead of looking for help?

I shudder to think.

What is it about helping someone else that helps us?

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day. She has a difficult time emotionally every Christmas season. Every December holds the anniversary of the death of her dad as well as four other loved ones and it weighs heavy on her.

She proceeded to tell me what she does… and I missed it… at first.

She told me how she works at a warming center at her church as well as sings in their cantata.

Did you see it? Or did you miss it like I did at first?

She has a need in her heart for comfort and hope so she is giving comfort and hope to others. She is acting on that quote whether she is aware of it or not and it is helping her.

Recently my emotions were talking to me.

Feelings of being overwhelmed were threatening me. Primarily in my writing. I am still a newbie here to the blogging world. This website was born just six months ago and there has been so much to learn. And there is still more ahead of me. For example today I created my professional Facebook Page as a writer. Also, I am writing what my mentor, Jeff Goins, calls a manifesto that will become a free eBook resource. I hope to have my book Emerging With Wings available on Kindle early next year.

But instead of allowing the feelings of overwhelm to take over, I responded with action inspired by that quote again. I looked for places to help someone else.

A few things I did were:

Swap assignments with a classmate

Send emails to check up on a few friends I hadn’t heard from in a while

Visited someone and helped them around the house

Joined a book launch group for an amazing book coming out

Shared resources with some of my classmates

Sent thank you tweets to authors whose work has touched me

Cleared the snow off a neighbor’s sidewalk

And more.

And you know what?

It helped me!

It does every time.

As you can see, my list was diverse in the actions. Helping others doesn’t need to be fancy or even time consuming. Sometimes it is, because time might be the thing you are giving. But the point is the choice is yours and when you help someone else you help yourself.

The choice is yours and when you help someone else you help yourself. Share on X

I have always cared about helping others. It is a part of my nature. But when I acted on that quote and saw the results it grew exponentially.

Like the Grinch on Christmas whose heart grew three sizes and he found strength.

Like Frank Cross in the movie Scrooged after his eyes were opened and he had a change of heart saying “I get it now” and they sang Put a Little Love in Your Heart.

So what about you?

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do”

Edward Everett Hale

Don’t go away and do nothing. Don’t allow the needs in your life or even those around you to overwhelm you. Do something.

Choose all, or at least one from the following and share in the comments what you have chosen.

1 – Click on the 3 links from the movies referenced in this post – they are short little clips

2 – Watch the cartoon How the Grinch Stole Christmas

3 – Watch the movie Scrooged

4 – If this is your first time visiting me here subscribe to my blog and receive your free eBook

5 – Visit and Like and Follow my Facebook Page

6 – Share this post on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media you have

7 – Come up with something else on your own

Danielle Bernock

Author, Coach, and Speaker helping men, women, and organizations EMERGE with clear vision of their value, TAKE ownership of their choices, and CHART a path to their promise, becoming Victorious Souls who Embrace The Change from survive to thrive through the power of the love of God

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