The Practice of Receiving- Take the 5 Takeaway Challenge
Interested in trying receiving in your own life? Here’s how to begin.
I used to believe the old saying: “It’s better to give than to receive.” A classic, type A personality, I dove into giving with gusto, convincing myself I had to give to everyone who crossed my path. In theory, it sounds selfless—what better way to create a nicer world? In practice, I said “yes” to any and every request for assistance. I sat on multiple volunteer boards, agreed to take on unrealistic projects at work, and looked for ways to jump in and offer help. I was constantly reorganizing my schedule to accommodate other people’s priorities, often lacking integrity in following through, and not living up to the many promises I’d made in an attempt to be “helpful.” This never-ending oneupmanship of giving and saying yes to everyone but myself eventually soured me on all requests. I had set a context for my life – give over receive – that was unbalanced, and didn’t allow me to ask or receive from others. Giving is amazing and feels great when it is done authentically and openly. The system I set up demanded that I give and therefore, at times, my giving was not authentic. In fact, I resented it and that resentment colored personal and business relationships. I wasn’t aware of my over-giving until the COVID-19 pandemic put a pause on all the activities I’d thrown myself into. Suddenly, all those obligations disappeared and I had time to reflect on what I wanted out of life. It felt really good. Really, really good. I realized two important things:- If you can’t give to yourself, you won’t get anything you truly want.
- You offer others a gift when you allow them to give to you. I decided that I needed a balanced flow of give and receive in my life.