Have you ever noticed the happiest people in the world…and I mean true happiness, not fake happiness are the ones who give? They give of their time. They give of their resources. They give their skillset and mindset… with little or nothing in return. Now, it’s not wrong to give something knowing that you will receive something in return (this is the essence of non-profits in the world), however, when a person gives expecting nothing in return, they appear to be always blessed. Why is this? Do they know something the rest of us don’t? Are they holding something back? Can we receive this ‘gift’ of generosity? The answer, of course is yes. In this third installment of gratitude mindset hacks, lets jump into this. Christmas day, 2019 is just around the corner. Last minute shopping is going on, the ‘hustle and bustle’ that we’ve probably sang about over the years is now more “hey get out of my way” and “hey that’s mine!” This makes us almost want to give up and let everything go. This time of year is prone to bring out feelings of despair and depletion to some degree. Well, I’m happy to share three ways that we can give back, so we don’t give up.
Sharing Is Caring
The art of giving back comes through the lens of three eyes. The first eye is that of generosity. Be generous. Generous with our time. Most people say they are busy, however since we all have 24 hours in everyday, it’s not that we do or don’t have time, it comes down to how we are using our time. Some do have more physical time than others, yet with a little time management reorganization we can give some time. Maybe you have a few extra dollars to support an important cause. Maybe you have an extensive network of friends and colleagues that have more time or resources than you do. Being generous, comes down to sharing… sharing of the self.
Invest Into The Future
The second eye lens is that of philanthropy, Philanthropy is simply the desire to better someone or something. Philanthropy is about building. Better yet, it is about the rebuilding of someone or something. It is rooted in a love of humanity. Investing into a cause where the result is sustained change is at the heart of every philanthropist. Philanthropy is strategic. There is a reason for the re-building. Most people believe that philanthropy is only for the affluent, but that is not always the case. Philanthropy is donating food to the local food bank. It is donating toys for a Toys For Tots™ drive. When you do for others, you are practicing philanthropy.
What About The Now?
The third eye of giving back comes in the form of charity. Charity is different from philanthropy although the words are quite often used interchangeably. Charity is an emotional response to something that is happening immediately, existing to eliminate suffering. The focus of charity is on rescue and relief. Whereas philanthropy is donating food to a food bank for those who cannot afford to fee themselves and/or their family, charity is taking a someone to a meal…. right now.
Have you ever done that? I have had the opportunity, as it presented itself to be able to immediately remove the need of a person asking for money for food. Rather than being philanthropic and donating a few dollars, I stopped and took the person into a restaurant and bought them food. The most magical thing happened. I was changed. True, I met the need and filled an immediate response, however during that 30 minutes I learned more about this wonderful old lady and about life than I have in a room full of executives.
Real life changes you. Real life fills your cup. Real life resets your internal mind to want to give back. Others have given up. The goal of giving back is to help those who have given up or are about to give up a fresh perspective to give back themselves. When we practice giving back, we reduce the amount of giving up.
How are you giving back? I’d love to know how you practice generosity, philanthropy, and charity through your life for others?