"Be of service. Whether you make yourself available to a friend or co-worker, or you make time every month to do volunteer work, there is nothing that harvests more of a feeling of empowerment than being of service to someone in need"
About this Quote
The subtext is a critique of the modern empowerment industry, where confidence is often marketed as a solo project: curate your boundaries, perfect your routines, manifest your outcomes. Anderson flips the logic. She suggests the most durable sense of agency comes from witnessing your impact on someone else's immediate reality - a feedback loop that doesn't depend on applause. It's also a smart reframing of need: the person "in need" isn't just the recipient; the helper is quietly positioned as someone who also needs anchoring, purpose, and a reason to feel effective.
Her examples intentionally span the intimate and the institutional: helping a friend, showing up at work, volunteering monthly. That range widens the doorway. You don't have to become a saint; you just have to interrupt your own isolation regularly. In a culture where burnout and loneliness are treated like private failures, service becomes a countermeasure that looks moral on the surface but functions as mental hygiene. Empowerment, here, isn't dominance. It's usefulness - the kind that survives bad days and bad headlines.
Quote Details
| Topic | Kindness |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Anderson, Gillian. (2026, January 17). Be of service. Whether you make yourself available to a friend or co-worker, or you make time every month to do volunteer work, there is nothing that harvests more of a feeling of empowerment than being of service to someone in need. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/be-of-service-whether-you-make-yourself-available-71451/
Chicago Style
Anderson, Gillian. "Be of service. Whether you make yourself available to a friend or co-worker, or you make time every month to do volunteer work, there is nothing that harvests more of a feeling of empowerment than being of service to someone in need." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/be-of-service-whether-you-make-yourself-available-71451/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Be of service. Whether you make yourself available to a friend or co-worker, or you make time every month to do volunteer work, there is nothing that harvests more of a feeling of empowerment than being of service to someone in need." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/be-of-service-whether-you-make-yourself-available-71451/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
