Magic of Service

At the core of each of us is the desire to make a difference. We serve employers, customers, co-workers, family, friends, our communities, our country and the world. Business leaders have identified customer service as critical for business success. What does it mean to be of service? How can you serve others when the demands of life and work leave you feeling depleted? Is it possible to serve others in a way that adds richness to their life as well as yours? These are important questions for those seeking improved business and personal outcomes as well as deeper meaning and purpose in work and life.

Live the Spirit of Service

Service is an effortless way of being rather than any particular action. It happens when we slow down and experience life in the moment. When we live in the here and now, we experience our connection with life and with others. The desire to be of service engages our heart, mind and spirit in work, relationships and life. It can awaken talents and inspire new and meaningful ways to express them.

Anyone can be of service regardless of their profession or role in life. Any business, any type of work, any ordinary activity and any relationship can be transformed by shifting the focus from “I, me, my” to listening and considering others. This focus on serving others invites respectful interactions, collaboration and creativity. Making business decisions, interacting with customers or co-workers, communicating with your spouse or friend, carpooling your children, changing the baby’s diapers, and volunteering are each opportunities to serve. In fact, all of life and work is an opportunity to be of service simply through “the way” we interact with others.

True service is giving unconditionally with no expectation of a return. It can be as simple as a smile, a compliment, or a “thank you.” It could include providing encouragement, bringing lightness and humor to life situations and setting limits for your children. It could also include addressing a customer’s concerns or helping them solve a problem, mentoring one who could benefit from your experience or becoming an advocate to support a cause in your community.

Going the extra mile by performing unsolicited acts of kindness for others is also a way to be of service. Customers, coworkers, family, friends and people you interact with, as well as individuals you don’t know and have never interacted with can all benefit from your kindness. Your experience of work and life can literally be transformed by the positive feelings generated when you serve others in this way.

There are an infinite number of possibilities for each of us to serve effortlessly every day. Yet giving our full attention to listening is one of the most profound services we can provide. Individuals feel respected and validated as human beings when we listen, even when our point of view differs. Listening with all of our senses allows us to understand the needs of others, as well as their viewpoint. When we listen in this deeper way, we connect with people as human beings and invite creativity, inspiration and wisdom to emerge in them, as well as in ourselves.

Behind the Mystery of Service

Service is an act of giving. Yet, who is the recipient when you give to others? Although giving and receiving may appear as separate exchanges, they are actually the same energy. As we give to others, we simultaneously receive. The receiving happens in the moment we give through the welling up and overflow of positive feelings within us that benefit our physical and mental well-being. As we serve others, we can allow these positive feelings to enrich our lives, as well as the lives of others.

Quality of service fluctuates according to our state of mind. A healthy state of mind evidenced by positive feelings is what allows us to give to others. Focusing our attention on the here and now as we live and work gives us access to the positive feelings available to anyone focused on living in the present moment. These feelings behind our words are the essence of what we communicate.

Caring for ourselves is an essential part of being of service. Self care promotes a healthy state of mind that allows us to give from the overflow of positive feelings innately within us. Over-extending ourselves depletes us and decreases the quality of our giving. If we give from a feeling of depletion, resentment or sense of duty, our negative feelings contaminate the lives of those we seek to serve, as well as our own. When we take care of ourselves, we just naturally give to others in an effortless way out of the joy and peace we experience in our own life. In this way, we touch the lives of others and can be deeply touched ourselves through simple interactions. This is the true spirit of service.

Discover the Magic

Service ignites our potential by connecting us with the unlimited reservoir of creative potential within that fuels our desire to serve. When we serve from an overflow of positive feelings, we effortlessly enrich the lives of others and evoke positive feelings within them. Serving in this way inspires passion for life as it energizes and multiplies the benefits of positive feelings for ourselves and others.

Scientific studies have documented the health benefits of giving to others. Research by Dr. David McClelland, Harvard Psychologist, indicated that merely watching a film on selfless service strengthened the body’s immune response. Both our physical and mental health can benefit, as well as the health of those we serve, our families, co-workers, friends and others around us. Health benefits are an added bonus to the business and personal outcomes that can result from serving others.

Reflect on the possibilities for service in your life. Just imagine how a culture focused on truly being of service to others could influence your business’ bottom line. Then envision the enhanced meaning and quality of work and life that can result for yourself and others. We can each discover the magic Dr. Albert Schweitzer, famous physician, philosopher and humanitarian, must have understood when he stated that, “the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”

Now, Take Your Next Steps

Take some quiet time to reflect on the topic of service. After reflecting on the questions below, consider changes you might want to make that will ultimately allow you to be of greater service to others in ways that happen naturally and are truly enjoyable. Consider ways to simplify your life and take better care of yourself. Find ways to renegotiate any commitments that are not currently working for you. Look for ways to create greater balance between work and life and make everything more satisfying.

Questions for Reflection:

  • What does service mean to you personally?
  • Who do you serve?
  • What is the quality of your interactions?
  • Do you frequently experience positive feelings?
  • What are the ways you take care of yourself?
  • How enjoyable is your experience of serving others?
  • Are you serving from positive feelings or feeling depleted?
  • What parts of work and life do you enjoy most? What parts are least enjoyable?
  • How do you achieve balance between your work and your life?
  • How do you feel about the ways you serve yourself and others?
Evaluate your current situation and determine what you would like to change. Really open your mind and heart to all of the possibilities you might consider. If you could make any changes you want, what would you do differently?

Take appropriate action. NOW is the time to make the changes that improve the balance and quality of work and life, as well as the service you provide to others. You don’t need a magic wand because the magic is inside of you. Tap into that magic and enjoy your work as well as your life. Harness the astonishing results of effortless service in your life and ignite your potential in exciting new ways that enhance the quality of outcomes in your work, your life and your relationships. Oh, the possibilities! They’re endless!!!