Are You A Giver Or A Taker?

Quick. Close your eyes and name the first five people that come to mind that you think have a great attitude. (Mary, James, Hanna, Meg, and Mike.) Ok, good. Now let’s do it again with the names of the first five people that come to mind that seem to drag the rest of the world down a little bit. (Steve, Sara, Bonnie, Tony, and Dave.)

Amazing how quick you can come up with those lists. The in-betweens would take a little longer, but these ten people likely popped right into your head.

At some really basic level, I think people are divided into two categories; givers and takers. The givers are people that add to the overall positive energy of the world by what they say, do, feel, and believe. The takers, well they do the opposite. The givers look for ways to help, to improve, to do. The takers sit back and expect others to give to them, do for them, and generally feed off of those who are willing to drag them along.

Givers vs. takers is not really good vs. bad, it’s just different (although you may have your opinion on the subject). Sometimes whether we are a giver or a taker is a choice we make, but more often it is a habit we have developed. If you don’t like the habit you’re in, it will likely take some effort to change it. That’s the thing about habits.

I guess the question to ask is, do I add to the overall energy of the world I exist in (home, work, the mall, the line at the DMV), or do I take away from it?

The other question that’s probably a good one to ask is, who are you surrounding yourself with? The more givers you have around, the happier you’ll be. No surprise there.

Merry Christmas!

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