As athletes, we tend to be inwardly focused, giving the bulk of our attention to training, recovery, and our performance. Taking care of fundamentals and perfecting your craft is beautiful and necessary. Shifting your focus away from yourself is beautiful and necessary, too.

With the year winding down and a new year fast approaching, think about taking inventory of what you’re giving your attention to. While many of us will be focused on receiving and expecting gifts, take this Christmas season to up your game in giving by sharing the gift of your time, talents, and resources in impactful ways over the holiday break and beyond.

In big ways and in small, you can be impactful with the platform you have by making meaningful investments in the lives of others.

Here are 25 ways to make a difference.

1. Volunteer at a food bank.
2. Donate to a charity or a scholarship fund that is meaningful to you or to the people you love.
3. Tutor a child in a subject that excites you.
4. Share your non-sports-related talents.
5. Share your testimony.
6. Give someone a lift to or from the airport.
7. Chip in on gas money for someone.
8. Share a favorite recipe.
9. Reach out to your neighbors and ask how you can serve them.
   10. Offer forgiveness to someone who has offended you.
   11. Prepare a meal with your roommates.
   12. Give insight and honest feedback in difficult conversations.
   13. Make things right. Move toward reconciliation in your relationships.
   14. Help someone in their job search.
   15. Volunteer to babysit.
   16. Donate supplies, new or lightly-used clothes to families in need.
   17. Open up your home to a fellow athlete who can’t travel to their hometown during the holidays.
   18. Do a favor for your athletic trainer.
   19. Dedicate an hour during the week mentoring someone.
   20. Invite a teammate to join your discipleship group.
   21. Give attention to an issue affecting your neighborhood or college town.
   22. Visit the sick and shut in.
   23. Sign up to serve in a ministry at your church.
   24. Lead an annual community service project.
   25. Share the gospel.

It’s better to give than to receive. Not only because it makes us feel good, but because we get to share expressions of the generosity of God, the giver of every good and perfect gift.