In this guest blog I am sharing the wisdom of Brad Whitehorn, Associate Director at CLSR Inc. I hope you find this blog helpful.
Volunteering is the cornerstone of strong communities, supporting everything from local services to everyday connections. National Volunteer Week is a chance to recognize and appreciate the people who keep communities running, one favour, shift, and “sure, I can help” at a time. In Canada, the tradition goes back to the Second World War era, when volunteers played a major role in supporting both military efforts and daily life on the home front, and what started as wartime recognition eventually grew into a national week led by Volunteer Canada. These days it’s less about wartime necessity and more about everything from food banks and festivals to local committees that would basically collapse without a steady stream of willing helpers. And while volunteering is about choice and contribution, it’s very different from being “voluntold “which is when you meant to say “I’m interested” and it was interpreted as “I will handle logistics, communications, and snacks.”
There are countless volunteer opportunities out there, but before you dive in, consider how you can get the most out of it by looking at how volunteering fulfills your core needs. Every personality has different core needs; the motivations behind everything we do. Not everything we do in life is able to fulfill those needs; adulting means that there are those things that you just have to do. To bring some balance and satisfaction to your life, volunteering can be a big part of that.
For Authentic Blue, volunteering speaks directly to relationships and self-actualization because it offers a real way to live out your values. It’s one thing to believe in something, and another to actually act on it; volunteering closes that gap. It also tends to create a different kind of connection that has a shared purpose with common goals rather than just something you have to do. Volunteering becomes a way of saying, “this is who I am, and this is what I care about,” while also building meaningful relationships with others along the way.
For Inquiring Greens, volunteering can satisfy the need for knowledge and competence because it creates a low-risk space to learn by doing. There’s something appealing about stepping into a new opportunity where expectations are a bit more flexible than paid work. It gives you room to test ideas, build capability, and understand systems you might not come across at work or home. Even the simple act of contributing to something unfamiliar can reinforce that sense of figuring things out in creative ways, which is pretty motivating.
For Organized Golds , the appeal of volunteering lies in belonging through duty and responsibility. Volunteering creates a clear opportunity to contribute in a reliable and structured way. There’s great satisfaction in showing up, fulfilling a role, and being someone others can rely on, even when you don’t have it. It reinforces identity through action by being able to show you’re the kind of person who always follows through. That feeling of belonging because you’ve actually contributed, rather than just being part of the group, is a big reason volunteering feels meaningful.
For Resourceful Oranges, volunteering appeals to their need for freedom, activity, and variety because it’s something they opt into, not something they are told they have to do, so it feels more like an opportunity than an obligation. Volunteering often comes with variety, new experiences, and a chance to jump into something different without long-term commitments. Even the idea of helping in the moment by responding, contributing, and being in the action fits that need for being engaged and living in the moment.
Volunteering doesn’t look the same for everyone. It can be a steady commitment, a one-off shift, a behind-the-scenes role, or something that pulls you right into the middle of the action. Whether it’s the chance to learn something new, connect with people, follow through on a commitment, or jump into something a little unpredictable, there needs to be something that ties it back to what actually matters to you. When there is, it stops feeling like “one more thing to fit in” and starts feeling like something that fits you. The next time you’re considering saying yes (or trying to figure out how “voluntold” you’ve just become), it might be worth paying attention to what kind of opportunity it actually is and whether it lines up with what you’re looking for right now.
Retrieved from https://personalitydimensions.com/volunteering-personality/
Certified Personality Dimensions Facilitator Tammy Adams, loves to problem solve, inspire and motivate others who are ready and committed to change. Tammy has spent over 30 years in the field of education and as a Certified Life/Executive Coach Tammy teaches individuals to challenge and conquer their limiting beliefs and insecurities to create the life of their choosing. As a Grief Recovery Method Specialist Tammy understands that unresolved grief can limit an individual’s capacity for happiness and is gifted at supporting individuals through the pain and isolation cause by an emotional loss, of any kind, to a place of happiness they believed no longer existed. A Tammy client testimonial, “Tammy helped me unpack the baggage and put a smile on my face in the process. It’s a rare quality for someone to fully listen without judgement yet still steer you in the right direction.”
To learn more about Intuitive Understanding please visit www.tadams.ca or contact Tammy by email at tdadams@rogers.com