Improve your capacity so your contribution can become larger.

There is a ceiling on how much you can give that is set by what you are capable of. Working on yourself is often framed as self-interest, and it is also the thing that determines the size of what you can eventually offer. The two are not in conflict.

Identify the specific limit you keep hitting when you try to help with something you care about. Then treat closing that gap as part of the contribution rather than a distraction from it.