Feel Good By Doing Good: Esteem Building Acts To Help Beat The Covid Blues

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! During this challenging time, we could all use something sweet to turn our frowns upside down!
The sweetest treat is definitely the rewarding feeling of happiness after doing something good for someone else. Whether it be making a family meal one day or treating your coworkers to coffee, these kind actions — or “esteem building acts” — are great ways to inspire both you and the people around you to keep moving forward and stay positive! Moreover, there is a ripple effect that encourages others to lend a helping hand.

Looking for ways to help your community? We’ve got kindness experts Ryan Foland (@ryanfoland), Christopher Kurtz (@DoGood_BeKind), and Katie Miller (@KatieSMiller) with inspirational advice on how you can make an impact and share how they found their purpose! Missed the Tweet Chat? Here’s a quick recap:

Q1. What is an “esteem building act”? How does it make you feel when you help out another person?

Ryan: An esteem building act is to think of yourself as the hero of your own story. Stop comparing yourself to others. Own your own story. It is yours, and you have your own unique super powers! I think that more, now than ever, we need to find some close friends. Having friends lets you go farther. And on the flip side, it's important that you avoid toxic people, even if they used to be your friends. Hang with a crew that supports you.

Katie: I love esteem building. Although I've never considered calling it. I've always called it encouragement. It brings me great joy to encourage/build the esteem of our volunteers. Helping them see their gifts & learning to use them is incredible! 

Q2. Everyone has a purpose. What’s your purpose and how do you honor it by helping others? How do you hold yourself accountable to keep it up?

Ryan: My purpose is to help people level up their communication to get what they want out of life. Building a #personalbrand is really a strategy of how you communicate who you are with the world. I practice what I preach to keep me accountable. My purpose is to let people know that their #personalbrand is really the intersection of what they want to be known for, and what others think about them. When you understand that, you can create content that supports the brand you want to be known for. 

Christopher: Our purpose is to inspire people (everywhere) to do good. We honor it first by living it. By holding ourselves accountable. And second, by sharing it through apparel, visual reminders, and business and school programs. 

Katie: My purpose is to love God & Love people. I do this daily at work & personally. My morning devotions help me stay grounded & remind me daily to lead with love. This typically falls into place better that way. 

Q3. How do you find the “right way” to help? Is there a “right way” to help others? What questions should you ask yourself when finding the best way for you to help? What resources can you use?

Ryan: Help comes in all shapes and sizes. The right way is to actually take action. It’s much easier to think about helping. The question I ask myself is, “How will this make me feel?” I know that helping others makes me feel good, and it motivates me to take action. A good way to do anything is to get in the habit of doing it daily. This is especially true for helping people. My friend @tweetinggoddess is a great example of that. Check out her quote from my @worldofspeakers podcast. Simple and powerful advice.

Christopher: Such a good question. I have learned that truly observing and listening will show us the "right" way. I have sat with more homeless people who are far more hungry for dialogue and to be seen than for food. 

Katie: There isn't a model right/wrong way to help. But there is a way that works best with each person, asking questions like, "What can I do to support you?"

Q4.  We all know that helping others is good, and that it makes you feel good too. But how can helping others also help your business? How do you think going out of your way for others affects your reputation / image?

Ryan: Reputation is everything and your brand precedes you. When you are known as someone who gives, I think your brand is seen as trustworthy. If you think about it, as a business owner, you are serving your customers. If you look at your mission over commission, your customers will feel like you are helping them, versus them feeling like they have to pay you. That is why you should make your service amazing!

Katie: As a business helping others especially in the community gives you a human side. It shows that you care & are making a positive impact.

Q5.  How can you help promote diversity and inclusion to help enrich our communities? What benefits come from a belief of inclusion and equality?

Ryan: I believe that diversity and inclusion should be part of every community. For my podcasts (http://ryan.online/WOS & http://ryan.online/313challenge), I have made efforts to be gender balanced, and have a diverse group of guests. I think promoting diversity and inclusion can come in the form of making sure that you seek out and follow a diverse group of people on social media. If you don’t, you may be missing key perspectives. Everyone learns from everyone.

Katie: Set aside the things that you might not agree with or that might divide you. Come together on the things you do agree upon. The benefit of doing so often helps both parties learn from each other & begin to build a relationship.

Q6. Kindness is contagious! What inspires you to help others? Who is doing a stellar job of spreading positivity and awareness? How do you encourage others to participate and make the world a better place?

Ryan: What inspires me to help others is knowing that my experiences (good and bad) can help them on their journey. Some people are doing a stellar job doing this: @tweetinggoddess, @RebekahRadice, @DoGood_BeKind, @winniesun, @ChrisStrub, @joshlinker @winniesun. I try to encourage others to make the world a better place in one of many conversations. Whether it is a digital keynote, workshop, podcast, or casual chat. I try to bring positivity and help people find the bright spots. We are in this together. 

Katie: Kindness IS Contagious! It's hard to explain why I am inspired to help. It's a feeling. Something stirs my heart & I have to act. @SandraCentorino is the queen of positivity! I just share what I am doing & invite others to join in.

Helping comes in different forms, so there’s no one way to help someone, just as long as you carry a passion to help those around you! We hope that you were inspired by our experts to start and keep on helping others!

To stay updated for more content like our Twitter Chats, follow @WinnieSun! Have a question for Winnie? Use the #AskWinnie to get your questions answered!