I suffer from CV vision. After years of striving to impress others in school, university, and work, I’ve lost sight of the real value of things. Every action and opportunity has been reduced to a series of pluses and minuses to be added or subtracted from my CV. That is why when I last thought of volunteering, my initial thought wasn’t “how can I help others?,” but instead was “how can this help me?”
I know I’m not alone in this way of thinking. We live in a time in which the accomplishments of our peers stand only as benchmarks to evaluate ourselves against. So in the midst of this “competition,” you begin to filter out what you feel matters and what doesn’t matter, and the end result is you invest the value of your actions on how it sounds on a piece of paper.
The greatest loss in all this is that the value of volunteering and altruism, the belief of doing good for the sake of others, takes a backseat to your personal ambitions.
Volunteering definitely looks good on your CV, especially if you’re a student, but that shouldn’t be the only reason you do it. You don’t prepare meals for the hungry and impoverished, just so you can wave your certificate in the face of a potential employer. You prepare those meals because there are people who are hungry, and you have the potential to serve them.
Once we break out of our CV narrow mindedness, we can fully realize our values as individuals, and the valuable role we can play in improving our society.
The fact is that volunteering does a lot of intangible good for us. First off, as humans, we are programmed to act altruistically. It is referred to as “helper’s high” and it occurs when we get a rush of endorphins from helping others. Sure, everything needs to occur in moderation, but our own bodies will reward us for acting out of kindness, this is human nature. It doesn’t just stop there. In addition to making us more grateful for what we have, it helps us to reduce stress.
According to Sherry Bourg Psy D., studies have actually shown that those who volunteer often live longer and have better health than those who do not. At the end of the day, a giving community is a happier community.
By volunteering, we are making contact with those who live on the margins of society- the physically weak, the old, and the poor. This contact creates stronger bonds amongst us, and makes for a more compassionate environment, in which all members of society are treated with respect.
It’s a good to be concerned with your career. It’s good to value your time and weigh the benefits of what you choose to invest in. These are all respectable habits, but the problem begins when we become overly calculative of everything in our lives.
Helping others and spending time and effort with those who are in need is something that is priceless, and we do it without expecting any sort of payment.
Moderation is key, there is no need to give more than we can sustain, but every bit counts. When you volunteer to help others, you don’t do it because it’ll help you get a job or make you rich. You do it because you’re a human being and it’s the right thing to do.
By Jaffar Mahmoud
