One of the best ways to start becoming helpful is to find ways to be helpful, meaning you need to go out and look for it. People don't often like to admit that they need help as we sometimes worry that this is a sign of weakness. Look around your area and the people you work with and find ways to become helpful. How about refilling the copy machine when the paper is out? Do you have elderly neighbors? Perhaps you can get up early and shovel their driveway for them or mow their lawn? Looking for simple ways to help others is a great way to reduce selfishness and become a better person.

The hard part about being helpful and generous is that you need to have the motivation to get out of your chair and do it. In order to find this motivation, ask yourself what you think other people think of you? Are you a selfish person or do you go above and beyond to help others? A good person to ask these questions to is your boss. They often observe this type of behavior and they will let you know if they see you being a helpful and generous person or a selfish and reserved person. Finding the motivation all comes down on how you want people to remember you by. When you pass this life, you will be remembered by your good works so it is important to limit selfishness and think of others.

Have patience with yourself, it's not easy to learn new behaviors. Children are taught from a very young age to become selfless, and a lot of this is learned from watching the interactions of those around them. This same type of learning applies to adults. Take a look at the people you commonly interact with. Are they selfish or selfless people? Do you aspire to be like them? If you do, what characteristics about their personality do you respect and appreciate? Pick a few things and start working on one new thing a week or a month. It will take awhile to learn new behaviors, but once you learn them, you will become a better person and others will aspire to be around you because of your generous nature.

A simple way to become helpful and generous is to start asking others if they need help. Of course, you will often notice if they need help but asking them is a great way to show them that you are truly a good person that cares about their needs. Start setting some personal goals for yourself that will help you become a better person through selfless behavior. Look for simple ways to help others, this can mean bring an extra pen to staff meetings for the person that forgot theirs or offering your seat on the bus to another person. Even doing simple things like saying "thank-you" and "please" will show others that you are a kind person. It is also a sign of respect to show others that you care about their feelings by saying "please" and "thank-you".