Many step into social development with the intention of helping other people. While driven by good intentions, whether they are actually able to do so is another matter entirely – it is important that we first know what we are capable of offering to other people. This is what Daniel Tran and Tran Minh discuss in Personal Development and Sustainable Living, a web talk that is part of the Digital Leadership Series of the ASEAN XChange.
Daniel Tran and Tran Minh founded Connection Coach, a learning space which takes life experience and creates learning processes and tools from them so one may grow in all physical, spiritual, and mental aspects. Their goal is to help people remember their passion and life purpose so they may live a meaningful life by adding value to others from their own passion and purpose.
A lot of professionals find themselves stuck in certain points of their career. Many of them find that they don’t connect with themselves, don’t know what they want to do in life, and end up working without a purpose—this proves to be quite draining for many. Some volunteers, while entering with the vision of helping others, do not have clear goals. We all want to help, but we don’t know how to help solve world problems. Because of this, many find the task too daunting and don’t know where to start.
Before one starts, it is important to have a clear vision of what one can do and what the world needs, similar to the Japanese concept of Ikigai, “the intersection of what you are good at and what you love doing.” The concept translates to “a reason for being,” which lies at the center of what you love (your passion), what the world needs (your mission), what you are good at (your vocation), and what you can get paid for (your profession). To determine all these, one must first get to know themselves.
As such, people must first help themselves before helping others. They must first find their reason for being. This also proves true in volunteering – before we can help others, we must first hone our skills. To do this, we must know what we can offer and where we see ourselves in the long run so we can work towards that goal.
Volunteers must first have an idea of what they have to offer. That way, it is easier to tell what kind of project they can accomplish, the type of people they must work with, and set a clear goal.
Before working on a project, think about the end goal: what do you want to achieve? Who do you want to help? What kind of impact do you want your project to have on individuals and on communities?
These are some of the important questions many forget to ask. Personal development is important as continuous growth brings forth fresh ideas and creative ways to solve world problems to the table. Because of this, volunteers must continue to reexamine their reason for living, their purpose, and what kind of impact they can leave behind.
An example given in the web talk is living sustainably, which Daniel Tran and Tran Minh describe as a flow wherein what feeds us comes out and returns to the world around us. To be a part of the world around us, participating in the flow of the Earth’s ecosystem. This is one of many ways individuals can contribute an impact to help fight climate change.
Still, this is just one of many ways we can help solve the world’s problems. At the end of the day, it depends on what you as an individual can do. It depends on what your skills and resources are, which one can only identify and develop through personal growth.
The ASEAN XChange’s Digital Leadership Series offers different perspectives into volunteerism and social development, featuring many youth volunteers and people working to create positive impact. Catch the other web talks on our Facebook page to find out how others are working to solve the world’s problems!