So, the other day I was totally swamped at work, right? Just buried under a mountain of tasks, deadlines looming, the whole shebang. I was starting to feel like I was drowning, honestly. Then, out of the blue, my coworker, Sarah, noticed I was struggling.
I didn’t even have to say anything. She just saw it. That’s the thing that really got to me. She wasn’t asked to help, she just observed and took initiative.
- First, she came over and simply asked, “Hey, you look overloaded. Can I take anything off your plate?” Just that simple question made a huge difference. It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders.
- Then, I pointed her to a couple of reports I was struggling to finish. Data entry, super tedious stuff, you know?
- She didn’t hesitate. She just grabbed them and said, “No problem, I’ll knock these out.”
- I watched her, amazed. She went straight into action.
- Flipping through papers.
- Typing away.
- Making calls.
- Not stopping until the task was done.
- Within a couple of hours, she had them done. Perfectly formatted, everything.
The Impact
It wasn’t just about getting the reports done, though that was obviously a huge help. It was the fact that she cared enough to notice and to offer her help without me even having to ask. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, didn’t expect anything in return. She just did it.
This got me thinking about paying it forward. I’m so grateful she looked out for me that I realized I need to be more aware of the people around me. Seeing when others might need a hand, even if they don’t say it. You know?
That’s why I am starting to practice to observe, and offer help like Sarah did to me. It’s not that hard, and the effect is a huge!
