How Can I Be More Generous? Giving Feels Better Than Getting

For many of us the phrase “It is better to give than to receive” is well known and comes from the Bible. For many people they are religious, for others not, and for people like me are spiritual and prefer to show my faith in humanity by my actions.

How can I, we, you, anyone be more generous? Well it starts by looking at yourself, as many things do. You need to tell yourself truthfully are you selfish? Do you put your own needs before that of others? Yes, at times you need to but if you do more than 99% of the time then it’s a sure fire way to show yourself you can give more.

Being generous is not only giving to others but it’s also about realizing you need less. By changing your way of thinking about the material things in life as well as other essentials like time, then you will place less importance on acquisition and more on sharing.

Money

Money is the thing we think of the most when we think of giving. You often see charities asking for monetary donations. It’s easy to do and it let’s the charities convert the money into many things easily, things like food, clothes, utility payments, rent and so on.

Giving non monetary things like food and clothing is more difficult as if they are not directly needed then they will need to be sold which brings with it a whole raft of extra problems and legal hoops that need to be jumped through.

So giving money seems to be the best option, at least for 80% of the time, anyways. Use your head when it comes to seeing how you can give. If it’s winter then blankets, clothes and food will be better.

So now the big question, how much should I give? Well that’s like asking how long is a piece of string. There are about 328 million people in the US. If every person gave just $1 to a charity a year then it could most likely run for a whole year (not the really big charities though).

If everyone gave $1 a day then 365 charities would be funded. You can see how it’s easy to make a small donation and collectively you can have a big impact.

Start small

To answer the question of how much, I would answer, start small. If you give away too much, too soon then you could leave yourself in trouble. You need to preserve what you need and then look at what is left. If you can afford a few dollars a month then it will be gratefully received whereer you donate.

Have a look around at local charities, they are often under funded and struggling and will always need help.

Find a cause that aligns with your beliefs and values too. If you are happy with the work that your preferred charity is doing then you will be more likely to keep helping them.

Time

This is our most valuable asset despite most people thinking wealth is. By giving your time you can be more generous, not just with charities but with others that need it.

There may be some local fatherless kids in your area that could do with an “older brother” figure to keep them on the right path. There may be some elderly folk who are lonely and could do with some company and a few errands completing here and there.

Never underestimate the power of just sitting down with someone for a few minutes and sharing a few kind words and a smile. It’s a world changer and sadly we are often too busy running around like maniacs trying to just survive when really we can’t see the wood for the trees, that is to say what is really important.

Knowledge

Some people are well educated, some less so but in all cases they will have some knowledge they can share with someone to help make their lives better.

It’s a true saying that knowledge is power. We all have our own knowledge repositories so we should start empowering each other by sharing.

You can teach people new skills for instance. Often people may not know how to do something you find simple so sharing can help them greatly.

You may have a formal qualification in something where you can advise and assist someone who is just starting out.

It can also be just general conversations too, to share a few tales of your previous adventures or other interesting events from your past.

You can even encourage others to share as well, share your knowledge of sharing and it can motivate them to do the same. Share the fact that what you do to be less selfish and more generous actually has a positive impact on your life.

Less is more

If you are living in a place that is way too big for your needs, costs a fortune to run and is full of stuff you never use then this could be a wake up call. Especially when you try to avoid charity workers in the street, like an elaborate game of pac-man because you spend as much as if not more than you earn.

Becoming a minimalist is enlightening. When you stop to analyse what you actually use and need in any given day it’s usually less than 10% of everything you own. Go on have a think. Look at everything, including furniture and decorations. What do you actually use every day. See? Much less than you thought.

I got rid of everything I owned, except about 8kg of personal possessions, a few years ago, and went to live in South East Asia. I now live on about 20% of what I needed before and while I live don’t live extravagantly I am not living like a pauper either. It’s a pretty good life in fact.

You don’t need to do anything quite so drastic (although I highly recommend it!) but you can take steps to minimise the excesses in your life.

You can stop buying tons of clothes, a few weeks worth is enough, you don’t need more than half a dozen pairs of shoes, you don’t need to live in a place that’s more than 50 square meters (if you live alone).

By reducing your stuff you can live somewhere smaller. You will save money on accommodation and bills. You will save money on not buying rubbish you don’t need, want or use. You will free up your money to allow you to give a little more.

Decluttering your living space often leads towards decluttering your life too. As your need for material things lessen, so your need for the spiritual things will increase. Giving, sharing and being together with people become more important than before.

You will spend less time chasing the material which will free up time as well. Time you can now share with others.

In conclusion:

As men we like to do, make and complete things. This naturally falls into the giving category as we often like to share the things we make, share the experiences with others and also to help interested people get involved as well.

Giving is easy, start small and work your way up gradually. But please note that the more you give the more you will want to give and the happier you will become.