About a year ago I was faced with a comment that really struck close to home. A person close to me made the statement, “what makes you such a good person? What do you do that is so good?” At first I became really upset, I thought “how could you say that?” But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I considered myself a good person because I was not a bad person, not because I did anything necessarily good. It was this realization that allowed me to turn my life around, to make minor and major changes and become a real ‘good person.’
Are you really a good person?
When I started to assess my actions, it became clear to me that I didn’t really do much for other people, especially people that I don’t know. I spent most of my time having fun with friends and goofing off. As far as valuable members of society goes, I was on the low end of the totem pole. But I knew that I had good in me, that I was capable of being part of something greater, that I truly wanted to be someone good, not just for me or for those closer to me, but for all of humanity. I wanted to do good and be great.
This may seem strange, but I really didn’t know where to start. What is it that makes a person a good person? I googled it, but didn’t find much (I know, who googles something like that?). I decided to start small. I made up my mind to never turn down a favor asked of me, no matter how large, if I could help someone. Could I try and fix your computer? Sure. Would I help you move? You bet I would.
Then I realized that as much as I did in this manner, my reach would only be those who I networked with, the people closest to me. I wanted to do more, reach more people, make a greater impact. Again I had no idea how to accomplish this, so I started with what I know. I know that if you move a nail from the sidewalk, you save someone from stepping on a nail. If you pick up a piece of trash whenever you see one, you keep your area looking clean and in great shape. So this is what I did. Any time I see trash on the ground I pick it up and dispose of it. Any time I see something that could potentially harm someone I do my best to remove it. Sure, it’s still small, but the reach is outside of my circle of friends and family.
But this still wasn’t enough. I didn’t feel satisfied that I was helping as many people as I could. I needed to up the scale. But I hit a ceiling. I’m no professional, I don’t even have my bachelor’s degree yet, and I still have 3 years till I finish college completely. What could I do, really? That’s when the idea for Zen College Life hit me. I may not be an expert, but I know a lot about college, especially what not to do. And thus this gem was born. It was a humble beginning, I knew very little about blogging, and if you have read any of my early stuff you can see that. Also, I knew nothing about wordpress, my blogging software, so that took some real research. But I stuck with it and now I’m 6 months in with a couple hundred subscribers, and many more actual readers. While Zen College Life isn’t making me rich, I’ve recouped all of the blog’s costs, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I still feel like there is more I can do, and as soon as I figure out how to do more, you can bet I will.
Some small ways to be great
- Pick up trash whenever you can
- Smile at everyone you see, your smile may be the only one they get today
- Exploit your skills for good of those around you
- Donate your time to helping others
- Start that project you’ve been thinking about forever
- Enlist the help of other great people toward achieving humanitarian goals
- Recycle
- Donate to a great cause
- Be part of something greater than yourself
- Forgive everyone
- Educate yourself, not just in school, but in all aspects of life
- Educate everyone you can about anything you know
- Start a blog to reach people you couldn’t otherwise
- Spread the message of good humanity with everyone you know and meet
- Give Blood
What good do you do? What tips do you have for me and other readers? I’d like for this to become a long list of tips, so share with everyone else, you’ll be helping us all become greater.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting read. What else can one do to help? Give blood! Doesn’t hurt, and you never know how many lives you can save this way during a lifetime!
@Matt Of course, give blood. I do it, but I didn’t think to put it on the last. Thanks buddy, I’m adding it now!