I did a quick Google search this morning and found the top 10 New Year’s Resolution that people make are as follows:

• Lose Weight and Get Fit
• Quit Smoking
• Learn Something New
• Eat Healthier and Diet
• Get Out of Debt and Save Money
• Spend More Time with Family
• Travel to New Places
• Be Less Stressed
• Drink Less
• Volunteer to help others

Of the 10 items listed above, the first 9 are very much about one’s self… which actually makes us less likely to follow through on them. The reason is because it is easy to trick ourselves into why we can’t keep them up past January 15. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that very often we do not have anyone holding us accountable. So we often resort back to our old habits, only to revisit the broken resolutions next year. The 10th item however, is very different, it is about volunteering our time to help others.

Personally I find it much easier to follow through on something when others will be the beneficiary of my actions. It is easier for me to justify in my head buying a $5 latte instead of investing that money for my retirement. However, when someone is counting on me, the last thing I want to do is to let them down.

Recently I have been volunteering for a few causes that, believe it or not, have actually helped me check off some of the top resolutions. For me, I find volunteering exposes me to things, people, places and activities that I wouldn’t otherwise be doing during my day-to-day firestop territory managerial duties. When I volunteer, I am constantly “learning something new” and “traveling to new places”. Most of my volunteering (at this point in my life) centers around my children’s education, so it has actually helped me in “spending more time with my family”. And even though some may view it as unpaid work, volunteering has helped me to “be less stressed”, as it becomes clear when helping others in need that, ‘Hey, maybe “my own problems” aren’t that bad after all’.

QUICK TIP: So my advice to you is simple… if you want to feel better about yourself, start by helping others to feel better about themselves. The New Year is the perfect time to get started, but remember that it is never too late to get involved and volunteer… somebody somewhere needs your help… and since you cannot deny the Law of Reciprocity, just remember… WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES BACK AROUND.

Here is some volunteering that I’ve been up to:

West Freehold School Golf Classic  – article

Freehold Township Education Foundation

Happy New Year!