Showing Up for Others

A few weeks ago, I talked about how we need to start showing up for ourselves more, and I wholeheartedly believe you should always show up for yourself. But something else I have been reflecting on is how our generation tends to be when it comes time to show up for others in our communities.

You see, we sometimes lean towards showing up for ourselves more than we show up for others. During specific times in our lives, this makes perfect sense. We tend to forget that there is an entire world out there that needs us to actively be a part of it.

How do we find the balance between showing up for ourselves but also showing up for those around us when the time comes?

One example I turn to is the older generation, and by that, I mean the grandparents of the world. When you look at our grandparents, they are the first people to be by your side when you need them. When you call, they will come. They believe that it is important to show up for the people and things that are important to us, and I think our generation has to learn something from this. It’s not a hidden fact that older people, in general, tend to show up and participate more in events, civic duties, etc. and they show up happily. So why can’t we do that as well?

It’s not to say that we don’t, but sometimes I don’t think we do it enough. I don’t think it’s just because of social media. I think we don’t show up because it would mean committing to something in a way, we don’t have to that often. Yes, we can commit to our jobs, school and perhaps a few other things. But, showing up for others just seems like a step we have a hard time taking.

Here’s the thing, as the world progresses and continues to be as chaotic as it currently is, showing up for other people might need to become just as important as showing up for yourself. Once you get in the habit of showing up for yourself and taking care of yourself, it becomes a lot easier to be there for other people in your community.

But we have to remember that we are part of this world, this country, and this community. We actively play a role in society, whether we show up or not. But showing up makes a much bigger impact on everyone’s lives, including your own. We are also reaching a point in time where we can’t afford to not show up for others.

So today, I am challenging you to reflect for a bit. Think about how you engage with your community and how you can show up for others. Do the internal work of showing up for yourself and once you feel ready, remember it’s equally important to show up for others.