“Our standard is giving more than what is expected.”
This time of year, the weather starts to get colder. Ironically, it’s also the same time of year where people’s hearts get warmer. The holidays that we will celebrate in the coming weeks are beautiful, and they officially open the giving season.
This is the time of year where people give the most and are the nicest to other people, even to strangers. The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are great for the soul and humanity! It is beautiful to see everyone going out of their way to give to others, and I am also excited to be doing my fair share of giving.
I think we can all agree when we reflect on it that in the last two months of the year, people are generally happier even though the weather starts to change and get cold. We can also agree that by the time January and February roll around, people get crabby or depressed again!
Most of us figure that people are not happy because the holidays are over, and the weather gets even colder. I am here to express my opinion that I think that’s not the reason. For me, the main reason why we start feeling unhappy in those months is that we stop giving! We don’t even realize it but giving makes us happy! We have all heard the saying “It is better to give than to receive,” but we don’t realize how much it affects our minds and health.
The season of giving is also the season of happiness. We don’t even realize it, but we start to become unhappy again when all the giving is done. Can you imagine if we just decided to give all year long? Not just you and me but the whole world! Can you imagine that? The world would be so different in a significant way.
As the giving season starts, I challenge everyone to give like they usually do but maybe after the giving season is over, we can keep going. Giving more than expected doesn’t just mean giving more during a certain time; it also means giving for a more extended period than people expect.
If your standard is giving more than expected and your goal is to give others more than they expect, all you must do is provide all year long because nobody expects that. I am ready to do my part, but I could sure use some partners. They say the people and the organizations that go the extra mile are everybody talks about.
I am sure that if you are anything like me, you are not giving just because of its attention. Instead, we provide give because we love blessing others. So even though giving more than what is expected will bring you more attention, it will also bring you more happiness, and when one person is happier, the happiness of the whole world goes up.
Make a plan to give as much as possible for the rest of this year and keep giving as the new year begins. At Total Life Changes, our standard is giving more than expected, and I have adopted that into my personal life, and I hope you do the same.
Remember what Dr. John told you when it comes to seasonal depression. You don’t need anything personally. You need to give others whatever you can, and I promise you will feel greater than you ever have.
Thanks for reading and have a fantastic week!
