A Life of Contribution
Most people are having a tough time. Life can be extremely complicated, difficult, and painful. Yet you have the ability to be a beacon of hope, if only for a moment.
Plato said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” If you did nothing else but kept this thought in mind in your dealings with others, you’ll notice a shift in your perspective and behavior.
In our daily interaction with people, especially in business, we tend to take the ME stance. It’s all about ME. What’s in it for ME? What are you offering ME? In this narcissistic mindset, we’re unable to act with true compassion and empathy. I’m not suggesting that all your interactions should be solely focused on the needs of others. It’s just important to have an awareness of others, not only ourselves.
How often do we operate in an unconscious, self-serving mode, thinking that life is revolving around us? For years I’ve practiced a compassion exercise I found in The New Three Minute Meditator. Most of us treat servers like cashiers, waiters, bank tellers, and gas station attendants as if they were automatons. Every time you are in front of a server or anyone else, realize they have a life too. Try to imagine everything they have to deal with on an average day. Look right into his or her eyes, acknowledging them as a human being and give a warm “thank you.” You will transform their day—and yours.
We all have the ability to make a person laugh while they’re having a tough day. Even when you pass a random person on the sidewalk, shoot him a smile. Did you ever notice how contagious a smile can be? Ever look at a stranger smiling and find yourself doing the same?
This focus on giving to others will have a dramatic effect on how you communicate; it will have an even greater effect on how you feel.
Without a drive to contribute, you will never be able to connect completely with anyone or become a person of positive influence. Honor every human being you meet as a gifted individual who is here to serve a purpose.
I leave you today with inspiring instructions from Og Mandino: “Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.”
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