Category Archives: Generosity

“One of the sanest, surest and…”

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“One of the sanest, surest and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.”

—Robert A. Heinlein, American Science Fiction Author

Photo from Flickr by Barbara Mazz

Photo from Flickr by Barbara Mazz

Do you like Chinese food? I do.

I must admit that in addition to enjoying the wide variety of tastes, textures, and aromas of Chinese food, I also enjoy the little ritual at the end of the meal. Yes, I very much look forward to opening my fortune cookie.

Imagine, for a moment, that all your future fortune cookies are “good fortune” cookies, and that not only do you get benefit from the one intended specifically for you, but you also get a boost of happiness from those of your dining companions.

EXERCISE:

How can you bolster your own life satisfaction by experiencing the added joy and fulfillment through the good fortune of others?

“Always give without remembering. Always receive without forgetting.”

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“Always give without remembering. Always receive without forgetting.”

– Brian Tracy, motivational speaker and author

Generosity and gratitude are powerful forces. They help us live happier lives. Unfortunately, the wisdom of Brian Tracy’s quote is not always heeded, and people often do what I call “keeping score.” Put simply, this means that “I’ll give you one if you give me one.”

Under this “giving must equal getting” rule, it’s easy for a person to feel that the equation is unbalanced. The process of giving and receiving grinds to a halt, with potential anger and resentment as a result.

Exercise:

Answer the following questions:

How will you operate from a place of abundance and generosity today and in the future?

How will you go out of your way to acknowledge the small and large acts of kindness people offer today and in the future?

“Our job is the excuse through which we get to love people.”

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“Our job is the excuse through which we get to love people.”

– Panache Desai, author of You are Enough

What percent of your life do you spend engaged in work? For the sake of today’s quote, I’m going to define work as our vocation, or the way we earn a living.

For the person working Monday through Friday, a minimum of 8 hours a day (who does that these days?) work represents approximately one fourth of our life. If the song lyrics from the Beatles tune are true, and all you need is love, or the old song love makes the world go round, then perhaps Desai is really on to something.

Exercise:

How can you view your daily work efforts as an act of love, contribution and generosity, instead of something to get through on the way to your weekend?