Help Others

The third point in John Wooden's father's list of rules for living is to help others.

It seems a bit overly simplistic, but a life with set to help others and be of service to others is going to be one worth living. There are many reasons for this. The first is that it will help and deepen all of our relationships, which will (generally speaking) make us happier people and love life more.

On one hand, the fact that we are looking to help others will take the focus off of ourselves, and allow us to grow in virtue without even realizing it. It is a little known fact, but... when we stop worrying about our own happiness and well-being but instead focus on the happiness and well-being of others, we often find that we bring them happiness and get our own happiness thrown in. It is like the saying, we get more people interested in us when we are sincerely interested in others... we generally do not find our own happiness when we are looking for it, but rather when we are helping others.

Another perk of helping others and being of service to them is that it often gets paid back to you. If you are known to help others, when you are in a pinch or need some help, there will often be others there to help. Building those relationships based on loving others results in everyone being willing to help everyone else. Of course, this should never be the point of helping others (you shouldn't do a favor for someone so that they OWE you something, but rather because you want to do them a favor with no ulterior motive), but when you live a life to help others, you will be rewarded for that, either in this life or the next.