The Spirit of Giving
Giv*ing n. 1. The act of bestowing as a gift; a conferring or imparting.
Understanding giving, and its importance, is something that we all struggle with. Many of us make regular contributions to charitable organizations, and many of us volunteer our time to our communities. But, I find that we short change ourselves when it comes to "giving" to ourselves.
We give ourselves really strange stuff. We give ourselves cars, televisions, jewelry, and vacations. Can you imagine giving a charity one of these things. No, of course you can't. We give charities things that truly enrich the peoples' lives that we are trying to touch. Yet when we give to ourselves, we rarely enrich our own lives with the gifts we give.
My point? We need to give ourselves more things that enrich our lives. More what? More knowledge, more patience, more kindness, and more compassion. The happiest and most successful people I know understand that the greatest gift they give themself, is the gift of self esteem. That self esteem, gives them the confidence to help others as well as themselves. As you know, self esteem is rarely built by acquiring material possessions.
The irony is that many of these things are achievable through giving to others. Your self esteem is the main benefactor when you give. You are acknowledging that others exist, and that others' basic needs are important. This is a great time of year to reflect on what you have given others, as well as, yourself this year. Give yourself the chance to enhance your self esteem. It will change your life.
Understanding giving, and its importance, is something that we all struggle with. Many of us make regular contributions to charitable organizations, and many of us volunteer our time to our communities. But, I find that we short change ourselves when it comes to "giving" to ourselves.
We give ourselves really strange stuff. We give ourselves cars, televisions, jewelry, and vacations. Can you imagine giving a charity one of these things. No, of course you can't. We give charities things that truly enrich the peoples' lives that we are trying to touch. Yet when we give to ourselves, we rarely enrich our own lives with the gifts we give.
My point? We need to give ourselves more things that enrich our lives. More what? More knowledge, more patience, more kindness, and more compassion. The happiest and most successful people I know understand that the greatest gift they give themself, is the gift of self esteem. That self esteem, gives them the confidence to help others as well as themselves. As you know, self esteem is rarely built by acquiring material possessions.
The irony is that many of these things are achievable through giving to others. Your self esteem is the main benefactor when you give. You are acknowledging that others exist, and that others' basic needs are important. This is a great time of year to reflect on what you have given others, as well as, yourself this year. Give yourself the chance to enhance your self esteem. It will change your life.
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