Positiveattributesaresomethingthatonlyaddstoyourpersonality,onlyservestomakeyoumorelikeableandapproachable.Andakeypartofbeingsuccessfulinvolvesbeinggoodwithpeople.Beingahelpfulpersoncanopenmanydoorsforyou,butthatshouldnotbeyourmotivationbehindbeinghelpful.Infact,ifyourmainintentionbehindbeinghelpfultowardspeopleistogetsomethinginreturn,itwillnotmeanmuch.Itwillmeannothingatallreally,asitwillshowinyouractionsifitiscarriedoutwithselfishintentions.Ifyouarebeinghelpfulwithexpectations,yourbehaviourwillbecalculative,andanyonewillbeabletopickuponit.Especiallythosewhoyouarehelpingonlywithagoalinmind.Itisbesttobehelpfultowardsotherswithoutexpectationsandpureintentionsinmindbecausethatwillnotonlyhelpyouexternallybutalsohelpyougrowasapersonfromwithin.Italsocomesacrossasmoregenuinewhenyou,indeed,aregenuine.Peoplearemorelikelytorespectyourpersonalityandholdyouinhighregardaswell,andpeoplefindyoutrustworthyinthatcase.Thishelpsyoubuildbetterpersonalandprofessionalrelationships,andprogresstowardsyourgoalsinbothspheres.Helpfulnessisacharacteristicpeopleappreciateinanindividualtheyareinpersonalrelationshipswithbecauseitsignifiesthatapersonwouldbesupportive.Beitafamilymember,afriendorevenasignificantother,wewouldwantthemtobeahelpfulperson,assomeonebeinghelpfulisanindicatorthattheirpersonalityismostprobablyamixofmorepositivetraitsthatonewouldwanttowelcomeintheirlife.Ahelpfulfamilymemberrelativefeelslikeaffirmationandsecurity,andyoufeellikeyoucanrelyonthem.Ahelpfulfriendisoneyoucandependontohelpyououtofsituationsyoudon’twanttobeinandhelpyouintosituationsyoudowanttobein.Ahelpfulsignificantother,lifepartnerorspousewillprovideyouwithstabilityandassurancethattheyaregoingtobeapositivedrivingforcebesideyouinyourlife.Inaworksettingtoo,beinghelpfulisnotonlyapluspointforyou,butitalsocontributestoamoreefficientandconduciveprofessionalenvironment.Youbecomeaco-workerpeoplecanrelyontogetthetaskdone.Alongwiththat,youalsobecomesomeonewhocultivatesacollaborativeatmosphereoveracompetitiveone,whichultimatelyhasapositiveimpactontheoutputoftheentiregrouporemployeecollective.Buthowexactlydoesbeinghelpfulleadtosuccess?Followingaresomeways-1.Sharetheknowledgeyouhave.Knowledgeissomethingthatcanonlybeaddedtoormultiplied,youcanneversubtractfromone’sknowledge.AndKnowledgethatislimitedtooneindividual,orisgatekept,helpsnoone.Thekeytosuccessismultiplyingtheknowledgeyouhave,sowingtheseedsofknowledgeyouhaveinother’sgardens,helpinggrownewideas.Itisundoubtedlytheeasiestofwaystohelpothers-simplyshareyourknowledge.Youdon’thavetobeateachertoimpartknowledge,nordoesithavetobeinfrontofaclassroomofstudents.Everydaypresentsyouwithanopportunitytoeducatesomeone,nomatterwhotheyare,inyoursubjectofknowledgeorareaofexpertise.Itisessentialtokeepeducatingyourselfaswellandstayaheadofthecurvetobeabletoguideothers.Howdoesitequatetosuccess?Well,whenyoushareknowledge,youareinitiatingmorepeopletothinktowardsasolutionofproblemsyourfieldmightbefacing,andasitissaidtwoheadsarebetterthanone.Youaremorelikelytoreachsuccesswhenyouarenotaloneandhavepeopletosharetheloadofworkingtowardssuccess.2.FindingoutwhatisvaluabletoothersThefirststeptohelpingpeople,oratleasthelpingtheminawaythatisactuallybeneficialtothem,istofindoutwhatisactuallyvaluabletothem.Thisavoidsthepossibilityofspendingtimeandeffortonsomethingthattheydidn’tneedhelpon,tobeginwith.Soitalwayspaystotaketheefforttoasksomeonewheretheyneedhelpandusingthattidbittohelptheminthefuture.Andwhenyoufindwhattheyneedhelpwith,alsomakesyoubetteratguessingwhatkindofhelpsothersmayneed.3.Shareyourresources,improvetheiraccessibility.Everyindividualhassomeresources,maybetheseareresourcestheywerehanded,maybetheseareresourcestheyhaveinvestedinandfosteredforawhile.Regardless,aresourcethatisunusedoriskeptstagnantisnevergoingtobesuccessful.Youmayhaveallthemoneyintheworld,butifthereisnoonetoprovidetheserviceyouwant,thatmoneyisuseless.Similarly,resourceshoardedareresourceswasted.Sokeepatabofresourcesyouhaveatyourdisposalandtrytoconnecttheseresourcestosomeonewhohasbetteruseofit,itwillonlyeverleadtobetteroutcomesthantheexistenceofthoseresourceswithoutthembeingused.4.Makingpeoplearoundawareofanopportunitytheymightnotknowof.Ahabittokeepaneyeoutforopportunitiespaysoffinsuccess.Nobodyisomniscient,andquitelikeresources,opportunitiesarealossunlesstakenupbysomeone.Ifyoucomeacrossapaintingcompetitionthatoffersagoodsumofprizemoneyorexposureandyouarenotsomeonewhopaints,whatdoyoudo?Itisonlynaturalthatyouinformsomeonewhoyouknowdoespaint,andthentheycanmakeadecision.Thiswillleadtothecompetitionfindingaworthyparticipantandthepersonyourecommendedfindingsuccessinfindinganopportunity.Andifsomeoneelsedoesthesametoyou,youmightendupbeingsuccessfulinfindinganopportunityforyourselfaswell.5.BecomeaMentorQuiteliketheideabehindsharingyourknowledge,beingamentorishelpingsomeoneachievetheirdreams.Almosteveryoneisanexpertatsomething,atleasttosomeextent.Forexample,ifyou’reanexpertincoding,cookingorwriting,thereissomeoneouttherewhowillbenefitfromyourknowledge.Itissomethingeasyandnotdemandingonyouasitdoesnotrequireyoutogoastepaheadanddosomething,itisaprocessofsharingyourexperience(thatyoualreadyhave)withsomeone.Andabenefittoyouintheprocessisthatyouendupgainingnewskillsinreturntoo.Whenyoumentorsomeone,you’reimprovingyourcapacitytosolveproblems,whichhelpsyousucceedaswell.6. Giveconstructingcriticismandfeedback.Givingsomeonetransparentfeedbackcanbehard,assomepeopledon’ttakethingsinapositivewaywhenwhattheyarenotdoingrightispointedouttothem.Buttheburdenofconstructivecriticismrestsonyouaswell.Thereisadifferencebetweentellingsomeonethattheyaresimplybadorpointingoutwhatiswrongandgivingthemgoodexamplesofwhattheycanimproveupon. Still,therewillbesomepeoplewhomighttakeitwrong,butinthelongrun,youwillhelpthepeoplethatyouwanttoworkwith.Thistranslatestoyoursuccessintheformofaworkplacethatissuccessfulbecauseyouknowhowtocommunicate.Eveninpersonallife,givingconstructivewillonlyhelpyouimprovesomeone’scapabilitieswithoutdamagingyourrelationshipwiththemifyouaresuccessfulinmakingitcleartothemthatwhateveryoumeantotellthemcomesfromaplaceofcareandyouwantingbetterforthemratherthananymalicioussentiment.7.HypetheventuresofthosearoundyouPeopleoftentakeahugegamblewheninvestingintheirentrepreneurialtendenciesandstartingsomethingoftheirown.Insuchcases,thebiggestwayyoucanhelpthemisto‘hype’,orputinagoodwordaboutthemandtheirventurewheneveryoumeetsomeonewhomightbeinterestedinit.Itmaynotevenbeabusinessventure,evenifitissomethingsomeoneisdoingoutofpassion,spreadingthewordaboutitonlyhelps.Imagineyourfriendisholdingadrivetodonatebookstothelessprivileged,spreadthewordandtrytogetasmanypeopletodonateasyoucan.Itmaynotseemlikethesuccessthatdirectlyaffectsyou,butbelieveme,itisapartofabiggersuccess.8.IntroducethepeoplearoundyoutoeachotherNomatterhowcloseyoumaybetopeople,itisimpossibletoknoweverythingaboutthem.Youneverknowwhatsomeonemightneedhelpwithorwhen,somemayevenbetooshytoaskforhelp.Howdoyoucreateasituationwhereyoucanensuresomeonegetshelpevenifitisnotcommunicatedtoyou?Introducethepeoplearoundyoutootherindividuals,whoyouthinkcouldhelpthemmovefurtherintheirgoals.Tryandbringthenetworksyouareapartoftogethertoformabiggernetwork.Helpcastabiggernet,metaphorically.Youneverknowhowoneofthoseconnectionscouldpanout.Anaddedbenefitthatworksoutforyouisthatasyournetworkgrows,thereisahugepossibilitythatopportunitiescomingyourwaygrowtoo,asmorepeopleknowyouandhaveyouinthebackoftheirmindwhichtheymayrememberwhentheyhaveasituationyouwouldbefitfor.9.VolunteeryourtimeTimeisapreciousresourcethateveryonehasalimitedamountof.Noonecanstretchtime,whichmakesitthatmuchmorepreciouswhenyoutakeyourtimeanddecidetohelpsomeone.Thatalsotaughtyoubettertimemanagement,whichinturnleadsyoutosuccessaslearningtomanageyourtimeisthebiggesttoolinbeingmoreefficient.10.RecognizethepeoplearoundyouTherearemultiplewaysyoucangivesomeonerecognition.Beitincludingtheminanarticlethatyouwroteorbymentioningtheminaspeechorevenaconversationwithsomeoneelse.Whenyourecognisethepeoplearoundyou,acknowledgetheireffortsyouhelpinvouchingforthem.Peoplearemorelikelytotrustthemasawayoftrustingyourjudgement,andifyouacknowledgethepeoplewhohavegenuinelyworkedhard,itworksoutforeveryoneinvolved.Andyouhavebeensuccessfulinmakingthepersonfeelthattheireffortshaven’tbeenfornothing,whichinturnencouragesthemtoworkhard.Itbenefitseveryonewhenwehavemorehardworkingpeople,whichitselfisasuccessofacollectivekind.11.InspirePeopleWhatdrivespeopleforwardtowardssuccess?Whatdrivesyoutowardssuccess?Whiledifferentpeoplehavedifferentendgoalsinmind,thefuelthatpowersyoutowardsthedestinationofsuccessismotivation.Motivationiswhatmakespeopleworktowardstheirgoaldespitesmallfailures,despitehavingreasonstogiveup.Howdoyoumotivatepeople?Youmotivatepeoplebyinspiringthem.Whenyouinspirepeople,youdon’tenticethemtowardsagoalbutratherhelpthemlaythegroundworkforthejourney.Itisessentialforpeopletohaveamotivationthatdoesnotfizzleoutbutcontinuallydrivesthemforward.12.BeAltruisticThismightseemcounter-productiveatfirst,howdoesgivingawayorputtingotherpeoplefirstbringyousuccess?Anditisafairquestion.Itisafairquestionfortheimmediatefutureandifyouarefocusingonyourshort-termgoals.Butifyoufocusonthebiggerpicture,you’llrealisetheenvironmentyoufunctionalin(professionalorpersonal)isalotmoreimportanttobothyourpersonalandprofessionalgrowththanyourownpersonality,driveorthoughtprocessis.Andwhenyouarealtruistic,youareimprovingyoursurrounding,thatultimatelybenefitsyoubybeingmorecontributivetowardsyourbetterment,andhelpingyoualongthepathofyoursuccess.
Positive attributes are something that only adds to your personality, only serves to make you more likeable and approachable. And a key part of being successful involves being good with people.
Being a helpful person can open many doors for you, but that should not be your motivation behind being helpful. In fact, if your main intention behind being helpful towards people is to get something in return, it will not mean much. It will mean nothing at all really, as it will show in your actions if it is carried out with selfish intentions. If you are being helpful with expectations, your behaviour will be calculative, and anyone will be able to pick up on it. Especially those who you are helping only with a goal in mind.
It is best to be helpful towards others without expectations and pure intentions in mind because that will not only help you externally but also help you grow as a person from within. It also comes across as more genuine when you, indeed, are genuine. People are more likely to respect your personality and hold you in high regard as well, and people find you trustworthy in that case. This helps you build better personal and professional relationships, and progress towards your goals in both spheres.
Helpfulness is a characteristic people appreciate in an individual they are in personal relationships with because it signifies that a person would be supportive. Be it a family member, a friend or even a significant other, we would want them to be a helpful person, as someone being helpful is an indicator that their personality is most probably a mix of more positive traits that one would want to welcome in their life. A helpful family member relative feels like affirmation and security, and you feel like you can rely on them. A helpful friend is one you can depend on to help you out of situations you don’t want to be in and help you into situations you do want to be in. A helpful significant other, life partner or spouse will provide you with stability and assurance that they are going to be a positive driving force beside you in your life.
In a work setting too, being helpful is not only a plus point for you, but it also contributes to a more efficient and conducive professional environment. You become a co-worker people can rely on to get the task done. Along with that, you also become someone who cultivates a collaborative atmosphere over a competitive one, which ultimately has a positive impact on the output of the entire group or employee collective.
But how exactly does being helpful lead to success? Following are some ways-
1. Share the knowledge you have.
Knowledge is something that can only be added to or multiplied, you can never subtract from one’s knowledge. And Knowledge that is limited to one individual, or is gatekept, helps no one. The key to success is multiplying the knowledge you have, sowing the seeds of knowledge you have in other’s gardens, helping grow new ideas. It is undoubtedly the easiest of ways to help others - simply share your knowledge. You don’t have to be a teacher to impart knowledge, nor does it have to be in front of a classroom of students. Every day presents you with an opportunity to educate someone, no matter who they are, in your subject of knowledge or area of expertise. It is essential to keep educating yourself as well and stay ahead of the curve to be able to guide others. How does it equate to success? Well, when you share knowledge, you are initiating more people to think towards a solution of problems your field might be facing, and as it is said two heads are better than one. You are more likely to reach success when you are not alone and have people to share the load of working towards success.
2. Finding out what is valuable to others
The first step to helping people, or at least helping them in a way that is actually beneficial to them, is to find out what is actually valuable to them. This avoids the possibility of spending time and effort on something that they didn’t need help on, to begin with. So it always pays to take the effort to ask someone where they need help and using that tidbit to help them in the future. And when you find what they need help with, also makes you better at guessing what kind of helps others may need.
3. Share your resources, improve their accessibility.
Every individual has some resources, maybe these are resources they were handed, maybe these are resources they have invested in and fostered for a while. Regardless, a resource that is unused or is kept stagnant is never going to be successful. You may have all the money in the world, but if there is no one to provide the service you want, that money is useless. Similarly, resources hoarded are resources wasted. So keep a tab of resources you have at your disposal and try to connect these resources to someone who has better use of it, it will only ever lead to better outcomes than the existence of those resources without them being used.
4. Making people around aware of an opportunity they might not know of.
A habit to keep an eye out for opportunities pays off in success. Nobody is omniscient, and quite like resources, opportunities are a loss unless taken up by someone. If you come across a painting competition that offers a good sum of prize money or exposure and you are not someone who paints, what do you do? It is only natural that you inform someone who you know does paint, and then they can make a decision. This will lead to the competition finding a worthy participant and the person you recommended finding success in finding an opportunity. And if someone else does the same to you, you might end up being successful in finding an opportunity for yourself as well.
5. Become a Mentor
Quite like the idea behind sharing your knowledge, being a mentor is helping someone achieve their dreams. Almost everyone is an expert at something, at least to some extent. For example, if you’re an expert in coding, cooking or writing, there is someone out there who will benefit from your knowledge.
It is something easy and not demanding on you as it does not require you to go a step ahead and do something, it is a process of sharing your experience(that you already have) with someone. And a benefit to you in the process is that you end up gaining new skills in return too. When you mentor someone, you’re improving your capacity to solve problems, which helps you succeed as well.
6. Give constructing criticism and feedback.
Giving someone transparent feedback can be hard, as some people don’t take things in a positive way when what they are not doing right is pointed out to them. But the burden of constructive criticism rests on you as well. There is a difference between telling someone that they are simply bad or pointing out what is wrong and giving them good examples of what they can improve upon. Still, there will be some people who might take it wrong, but in the long run, you will help the people that you want to work with. This translates to your success in the form of a workplace that is successful because you know how to communicate.
Even in personal life, giving constructive will only help you improve someone’s capabilities without damaging your relationship with them if you are successful in making it clear to them that whatever you mean to tell them comes from a place of care and you wanting better for them rather than any malicious sentiment.
7. Hype the ventures of those around you
People often take a huge gamble when investing in their entrepreneurial tendencies and starting something of their own. In such cases, the biggest way you can help them is to ‘hype’, or put in a good word about them and their venture whenever you meet someone who might be interested in it. It may not even be a business venture, even if it is something someone is doing out of passion, spreading the word about it only helps. Imagine your friend is holding a drive to donate books to the less privileged, spread the word and try to get as many people to donate as you can. It may not seem like the success that directly affects you, but believe me, it is a part of a bigger success.
8. Introduce the people around you to each other
No matter how close you may be to people, it is impossible to know everything about them. You never know what someone might need help with or when, some may even be too shy to ask for help. How do you create a situation where you can ensure someone gets help even if it is not communicated to you?
Introduce the people around you to other individuals, who you think could help them move further in their goals. Try and bring the networks you are a part of together to form a bigger network. Help cast a bigger net, metaphorically. You never know how one of those connections could pan out.
An added benefit that works out for you is that as your network grows, there is a huge possibility that opportunities coming your way grow too, as more people know you and have you in the back of their mind which they may remember when they have a situation you would be fit for.
9. Volunteer your time
Time is a precious resource that everyone has a limited amount of. No one can stretch time, which makes it that much more precious when you take your time and decide to help someone. That also taught you better time management, which in turn leads you to success as learning to manage your time is the biggest tool in being more efficient.
10. Recognize the people around you
There are multiple ways you can give someone recognition. Be it including them in an article that you wrote or by mentioning them in a speech or even a conversation with someone else. When you recognise the people around you, acknowledge their efforts you help in vouching for them. People are more likely to trust them as a way of trusting your judgement, and if you acknowledge the people who have genuinely worked hard, it works out for everyone involved. And you have been successful in making the person feel that their efforts haven’t been for nothing, which in turn encourages them to work hard. It benefits everyone when we have more hardworking people, which itself is a success of a collective kind.
11. Inspire People
What drives people forward towards success? What drives you towards success? While different people have different end goals in mind, the fuel that powers you towards the destination of success is motivation. Motivation is what makes people work towards their goal despite small failures, despite having reasons to give up. How do you motivate people? You motivate people by inspiring them.
When you inspire people, you don’t entice them towards a goal but rather help them lay the groundwork for the journey. It is essential for people to have a motivation that does not fizzle out but continually drives them forward.
12. Be Altruistic
This might seem counter-productive at first, how does giving away or putting other people first bring you success? And it is a fair question. It is a fair question for the immediate future and if you are focusing on your short-term goals. But if you focus on the bigger picture, you’ll realise the environment you functional in (professional or personal) is a lot more important to both your personal and professional growth than your own personality, drive or thought process is. And when you are altruistic, you are improving your surrounding, that ultimately benefits you by being more contributive towards your betterment, and helping you along the path of your success.
