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Quotes about Helping Others

Rob Dyer Quote on Staying Focused On The Right Things—Things That Bring Us Together

    “At the end of the day, you can either focus on what’s tearing you apart, or what’s holding you together.”

    Rob Dyer

    Beyond the Quote (74/365)

    There is a lot happening right now that can make us feel like we’re being torn apart.  With the threat and spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), there is more and more happening each day that is moving us further and further apart and into smaller and smaller groups (even into isolation).  Everything from the biggest organizational gatherings in the world to the most remote meetings in our own backyard are being postponed and cancelled to prevent the spread of the virus.  During this time when we are being forced apart physically, we need to find ways to continue to come together mentally and emotionally.

    Read More »Rob Dyer Quote on Staying Focused On The Right Things—Things That Bring Us Together

      “The journey of the bodhisattva warrior starts with the basic attitude of enlarging our motivation to include the welfare of others.  This is a simple response to this dark age.  Let’s begin right now by engaging love and compassion however we can—not tomorrow, but today.  By cultivating courage and confidence in ourselves and maintaining our seat, we can enjoy creating a sane environment; we can enjoy creating an enlightened society.  This doesn’t have to be overwhelming.  Start by looking at your own life and see what you can do, one step at a time.  Love is the saving grace.” ~ Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 212)

        “Receiving is much harder than giving, but this fact is seldom recognized in mainstream American society.  Dependent people are often deprived of chances to give, finding that they must endure a state of almost constant relinquishment and passivity.  Consequently, the person receiving help accumulates a debt to the other and must bear the weight of feeling beholden day in and day out.  There are few means through which the person can pay back a caregiver for rides to the doctor, help with medical bill paperwork, handling loads of laundry, and check-up telephone calls—the list of favors owed can be immense.  The dependent person may yearn for something useful to do, only to be admonished, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll take care of everything.'” ~ John Leland, Happiness is a Choice You Make (Page 188)

          “Maybe I should at least wait, to help you, until it’s clear that you want to be helped.  Carl Rogers, the famous humanistic psychologist, believed it was impossible to start a therapeutic relationship if the person seeking help did not want to improve.  Rogers believed it was impossible to convince someone to change for the better.  The desire to improve was, instead, the precondition for progress.  I’ve had court-mandated psychotherapy clients.  They did not want my help.  They were forced to seek it.  It did not work.  It was a travesty.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 81)

            “Before you help someone, you should find out why that person is in trouble.  You shouldn’t merely assume that he or she is a noble victim of unjust circumstances and exploitation.  It’s the most unlikely explanation, not the most probable.  In my experience—clinical and otherwise—it’s just never been that simple.  Besides, if you buy the story that everything terrible just happened on its own, with no personal responsibility on the part of the victim, you deny that person all agency in the past (and, by implication, in the present and future, as well).  In this manner, you strip him or her of all power.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 80)

              “Not everyone who is failing is a victim, and not everyone at the bottom wishes to rise, although many do, and many manage it.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 76)

                “The best way to empower someone is not to give them anything; Is not to treat them as if they need to be put on the sidelines. The best way to empower someone is to encourage them to give something to the world—to demand something.” ~ Claire Wineland (20), EEM LA 2018

                  “If you won’t give a dime out of a dollar, you won’t give $1 million out of $10 million.  The time to give is now!  When I had nothing, I began this process.  The reward is that if you give, even at the times when you think you have very little, you’ll teach your brain that there is more than enough.  You can leave scarcity behind and move toward a world of abundance.” ~ Tony Robbins, Money: Master the Game

                    “We are all capable of contributing to the world in a way that makes a profound difference.  A rare few go big.  Make the big gesture.  Take the big risk.  Expose themselves on a grand scale.  Create and then ride the big wave.  But most of us, myself included, take a different yet equally valid path.  It’s the path of the ripple.  Simple actions, moments, and experiences.  Created, offered, and delivered with such a purity of intention and depth of integrity and clarity that they set in motion a ripple that, quietly, in its own way, in its own time, expands outward.  Interacting with, touching, mattering to people we’ve never met in ways we never conceived.” ~ Jonathan Fields, How To Live A Good Life

                      “When we think about giving, we often think about grand gestures, setting aside hours or days to volunteer, mentor, or contribute to some person or group we want to see rise.  Or we think about specific charities, foundations, and organizations to donate to.  But giving even on the smallest level has power.  So often, we miss the momentary opportunities to contribute, the countless moments to be generous, to help, to be of service in the moment, for a moment.” ~ Jonathan Fields, How To Live A Good Life

                        “If the only reason you help is so that you can tell people that you help, I don’t need your help.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You

                          “It is not enough to be compassionate, we must act.” ~ Dalai Lama

                            “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” ~ Jack Kornfield