I have said many times that the best therapy I could ever get is to provide therapy for others. My occasional feelings of discouragement or self-pity soon disappear when I turn my focus toward helping someone else.  My personal concerns fade into the background as I work to serve them.

This, of course, isn’t a new idea. We’ve long known that serving others is good medicine. We feel better when we put someone else above ourselves. We are created for community, and personally benefit from acts to take care of those around us.

We know this truth, but often forget it when we most need it. When we’re down, we become focused on ourselves. We dwell on our difficulties. We review our mistakes or failures, and anticipate future catastrophes.

Because of this internal focus, we imagine that other people are free of such problems. We assume that others are happier and more satisfied. We believe them to be more self-confident and comfortable with themselves. On some level, we know better. We just forget.

I even apply this principle of “serving others” when doing public speaking. Since publishing the “Parables” book, I have done a lot of speaking engagements. I truly enjoy doing workshops or presentations, but I do have a secret.

Before I begin speaking, I deliberately shift my focus to the audience. I ask myself why they are there. What are they looking for in this workshop? What might be going on in their lives? How can my material serve them? How can I help them? By focusing on them, I lose myself. I become more comfortable. This principle holds true when speaking to a group or to one person.

It is impossible to be self-conscious and other-conscious at the same time. When you are fully conscious of another person, you lose consciousness of yourself. When you are truly thinking about them, you stop worrying about what they are thinking about you.

Research shows that volunteering improves the health, happiness, and in some cases, the longevity of the volunteers. Studies also show that people who volunteer tend to have higher self-esteem, happiness and psychological well-being.

So give it a try. Reach out to someone. Think of someone you know who could use a visit, a phone call or a card. Identify an organization that could use your help. Call them and ask if they accept volunteers. Focus your attention on serving someone else. I’ll bet you’ll find that helping them helps you.