BSW after a day of successfully sorting and packing 5,900 lbs. of food at the Community Food Share in Louisville.
“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” – Chinese Proverb
As the wise sentiment noted above indicates, choosing to fill others’ cups from our own well without expectation is a long-term investment that does indeed garner unfathomably immense returns. In recent years, myriad studies examining the effects of giving and living with purpose have been conducted by world-class research teams, including those calling UCLA, Northwestern, and Harvard home. All studies generated similar results: those actively engaged in serving the world around them benefit physically, mentally, and emotionally, on the individual level.
Though we can effortlessly and immediately reap the merits associated with walking the path of service, it can be a seemingly daunting task to take the first steps, especially as many of us are abundantly scheduled during the holiday season. Whether aware of it or not, we are constantly granted chances to act in ways which benefit others. We mustn’t underestimate the power of small acts executed with great care: greeting your neighbor with a quick wave and smile, taking two minutes to listen to a friend without verbal response, and holding the door open for a stranger seem minuscule, but often prove to be the most potent and memorable.
The month of November is especially ripe with the spirit of giving; there could not be a more ideal time to open our eyes to opportunities available to serve and capitalize on them. Regardless of whether you decide the present moment, next month, or July of next year is the time to embark on your giving journey, start to find your footing with these simple suggestions:
- Tap into your source of connection: What activities and/or passions illuminate YOU? Are there existing avenues through which you can pay forward the things for which you are grateful for to others?
- Identify your abundant resource(s): We can be of service to others by employing any of the “Three T’s” – our time, talent, and/or treasure.
- Recruit your community: Are there friends and colleagues with similar interests seeking to contribute in a bigger way? Chances are, the answer is yes. Be the spark that illuminates the service conversation, and gain valuable partners in giving, inspiring, and accountability.
At BSW Wealth Partners, we routinely ask ourselves how we can continue and evolve in our mission to Make Life Better. A timeless and recurring answer to this inquiry: encourage and actively engage with the spirit of service on a multitude of levels. BSW has been and continues to be involved in serving local organizations such as Community Food Share, Emergency Family Assistance Association, Chef Ann Foundation, and more by way of the Three T’s. BSW employees are currently working in tandem with B Local Colorado, local a chapter of the not-for-profit arm extending from B Corp, with the intention of inspiring fellow colleagues and businesses to be forces of good through B of Service Days. To our pleasant surprise, BSW has again landed on Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work List; our long-standing initiative to offer employees paid time off to commit to service work is certainly an attributing factor to this accolade. It is this very ethos that makes our team a family, fortifies meaningful and lasting relationships with our clients, and intertwines us within the Boulder community and beyond.
At the end of the day, our team is here to serve YOU. If you feel charmed, I invite you to reach out to either Nicole or me for individualized support in your own mission of service, and to offer further insight regarding BSW’s commitment to serve. Being of service, at any capacity, is a no-risk, all-reward scenario from which we can all become beneficiaries.
Thank you for reading!
