The best way to help yourself is by helping others. That’s the message behind Erin Bennion’s devotional talk this week.
Erin Bennion is the Nursing Department chair at BYU-Idaho. Her talk titled “The Best Self, Help,” discussed the importance of helping others and how that lesson has blessed her life.
In her talk, she tells the story of a Navy SEAL’s training camp she attended, and the experience she had there where she helped someone having a hard time keeping up. She did her best to ignore her own troubles and to help this man.
“I began to look for small milestones we could check off. I gave tips I had learned, and pep talks when he wanted to stop,” Bennion said in her devotional.
Eventually, they completed the training, and the man never gave up. Even though their trials were very difficult in that moment, Bennion reached the end goal.
“I learned a valuable lesson in my dark moment. If I was going to survive, I needed to help those around me,” she said.
Bennion worked as a nurse for 10 years. During that time, she learned the importance of helping others get back on their feet. One such moment was helping a quadriplegic boy attend a university. Despite his challenging circumstances, he was always able to put a smile on everyone’s face, including Bennion’s.
In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio, Bennion explained why this boy was so positive, and how that shaped her perspective on helping others.
“I honestly wonder if his success was because of the blessings he was able to count despite his challenges. He’s still alive. He’s attending a university, which is amazing. Seeing those successes is what made the difference in his life,” Bennion said.
Bennion said if there’s one thing she wants listeners to remember from her talk, it’s to always look to find ways to help others.
“When things are tough and you feel like life has just kicked you down, don’t dwell on your own mishaps or misfortune, you’ve got to get out of your own situation and look for somebody else to help,” she said.