We each have a unique gift to share with the world. Last time, I wrote about How Generosity Helps Women in Business. Today, I want to explore brining generosity into all areas of our life, not just business—and embodying generosity as a lifestyle.
It’s so important to make generosity a lifestyle, not just in our business life, but in our private life as well. One of the main ways people do this is by giving to charities. It’s easy to spend money on a charity and that’s a beautiful things to do—and your donation can have a big impact.
But it can be more challenging to really have a daily dose of generosity and to make it part of who you are. To be generous, you first need to give to yourself before you can give to others.
Generosity is really more about taking care of yourself first. If it doesn’t start with you, then you will be depleted as you give. It can wear on you and you’ll be slowed down from all the greatness you have to give. This is not healthy for the self. You want to take care of yourself so you are in great shape to give. Fill up yourself first so you can give from the extra you have to offer others.
The second step to making generosity a lifestyle is to be open about how to be generous once you have taken care of yourself. It doesn’t always have to involve money. Generosity can come in the form of time, it can be a generous smile and a warm welcome to someone, which can really make their day. You can even be generous in conversation.
Being open to a friend who needs an ear to listen in is a wonderful form of generosity. If you give ten minutes or even an hour and invest in just listening to someone. This helps them purely by showing them that someone does just want to listen to them—and it’s a wonderfully generous thing to do.
Here in Switzerland, we have an organization in our community that has people go into the homes of the elderly and take them for a walk. You can do it once per week, monthly or once a year. Giving this gift of time to a stranger is an amazing thing to do.
Maybe you want to give your time to supporting someone you believe in, like a political cause. Or maybe you’re generous by speaking up for someone and helping them out if you see they are being bullied. Making the choice to speak up, instead of staying quiet, is a profound action.
It’s really about just noticing other people and seeing what they might need in the moment—and then giving them that.
I have a lot going on in my life, from running a business to being a wife and a mother. We can’t compromise that by being overly generous, but because we know how hard it is to stay on top of everything, we can acknowledge that everyone has similar things to manage and juggle. When you make a meal for your family, read your kids a bedtime story, or listen to their terrible day, you are being generous. If you give yourself a break, then you are more likely to offer that friendliness and kindness to someone else.
It’s very important to not let generosity stop in just your personal life. If you work more than most people, take it a little bit easier. Here in Europe, we have four to six weeks of holidays, which is a bit more than in the U.S. When you’re used to working so much, you can be generous to yourself by allowing yourself to pause. Take a step back and see that what you accomplish by being a great daughter, friend, wife, mother, worker—that’s a lot of things to do. We have to acknowledge that sometimes, it’s too much and that we can’t be our best all the time. When we take that pressure away and off ourselves, we are being generous to ourselves.
Ultimately, it has to do with trust. Take a break and try to connect with your soul essence. Know that everything is going to work out fine. That you are enough, it’s more than okay and that your life is beautiful. This will create a more relaxed attitude. And from there, you will be able to impact from a place of beauty and love. Because being an impactful woman comes from place of beauty and love
In the spirit of giving back, I want to share a free gift with you:
These tools will help you connect more—and create a more generous lifestyle.
Download your free Giving Back Guide today—and let me know: How do you like to give back? What do you feel called to do this holiday season? I love to hear how you are giving back!
Much Love,
Carollyne
Now over to you: What is something you can give back this week?
