Alternate Perceptions Magazine, December 2025
Sharing Your Time and Talents This Holiday Season
By By Stan Prachniak, MBA
The giving season is upon us, and I’d like to encourage you to think about ways that you can use this time of year to focus on making a positive impact in your community. More specifically, I want you to consider how you might be able to share your time, gifts, and abilities with the people and organizations around you who could use your help. Many people donate money to charitable causes during the holidays as a way to give back, but far less people volunteer their time and talents to organizations that can really use it. The most common reason for this is that people believe they are too busy and they just don’t have the time to squeeze another thing into their schedule. If you are one of these people, I urge you to challenge this belief and try to find a way to make it happen. The best way to do this is to examine what you do with your time. Chances are, there are some things that you can reschedule or sacrifice that will free up enough time for you to volunteer. It is common in our society for people to spend several hours each week watching television, playing games, or scrolling through social media feeds on their phones. Our need to be entertained (or to not feel bored) has increased over time, and the digital age continues to fuel this need. Content developers have discovered ways to keep the dopamine “hits” coming, making it harder for people disengage from their chosen content. One thing to consider regarding this trend is that there is rarely anything that a person will experience doing these things that will bring them true happiness or foster lasting relationships. Engaging in these activities is entertaining and can elicit temporary feelings of joy or happiness, but there is generally not a lasting feeling of emotional fulfillment. When a person volunteers, they open the door for a host of possible benefits including social connections, a sense of belonging, a greater sense of purpose, emotional fulfillment, and more. Choosing to volunteer for an organization that you feel a connection with makes sacrificing your time and talents even easier. Take some time and consider any causes that you feel a connection to. Are there any local organizations related to these causes? If there are, can you commit to finding time to volunteering at one of these organizations? I challenge you to make a conscious decision this holiday season (and beyond) to put your phone down and donate your time and abilities to a cause that you have a passion for. Freedom To Change offers a way for you to assess your beliefs about your commitments and find ways to prioritize the things that are important to you. For more information on the Freedom2Change materials, visit www.freedom2change.org .
