Who doesn’t love a generous person? Many of us have been blessed by a person who has help us in a time of need, given us advice when we were confused of was just kind when kindness was needed. Where being generous is great for those who are around such people, the habit of generosity does a great deal for the person who practices it as well.
Truly generous people are often successful in life. Not just at work or in the community, but in their personal lives as well. The wonderful thing about generosity is that anyone can become a generous person no matter what station you are in life, how much you have or what you hope to have. Here are seven reasons why success often fills the lives of generous people.
1. Generous People are Happy People
You will be hard pressed to find a generous person who is grumpy and unhappy. People who are willing to share of their time, possessions, and talents are often some of the happiest people there are. They have a great sense of contributing to the world they live in. All of us seek to have meaning in life and to feel that we matter to the world. For generous people, happiness comes from giving more than from taking.
2. Generous People are More Relaxed
There is no greater stress than feeling that you are in need or that you have to get more in life. Greed as well as a sense of poverty drive people to constantly worry about what they do not have and at times will cause then to make bad choices to try and remedy the problem. Generosity is a state of mind. It is not based on how much money or possessions you have. Generous people can in fact have very little, however, what they do have they are willing to share and are not in bondage to their possessions. There is a great calm and peace that comes when we always sense that we can give of whatever we have.
3. Generous People are willing to Work Hard
A common trait of generous people is that they are willing and happy to work hard for what they have. Success comes through hard work. There is not short cuts or easy paths to take. Generous people realize this and will do what it takes to achieve their goals and dreams in life. Since they tend to be others-focused rather than self-focused they see their own success as a benefit for all, not just for them.
4. Generous People are Kind People
Just as you will not find a generous person who is unhappy, you will not find one who is not kind. Generosity is all about kindness. It is giving of yourself to others to help them in a time of need or to advance them on their journey to success. When you are kind to others you will find that others will be kind to you. A key to achieving success is knowing that what you give you will receive back. Zig Ziglar had it right when he said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
5. Generous People are Free People
The strongest prisons in the universe are those built on greed, want and selfishness. They are chains that hold you down from achieving real success in life and limit all you hope to do. The only thing that breaks these chains is generosity. Generous people are free to do what they wish, and have what they want because their happiness and success is not dependent on what they keep, but more on what they give away. Have you ever noticed that generous people seem to have more than they need of all of life’s treasures? That is because you will always receive in the same proportion as what you give.
6. Generous People Have Better Relationships
It is just a fact, happy, kind and generous people have more friends, better friends and stronger personal relationships. It is not because others know they can get something from these people, in fact, what they have or do not have has nothing to do with it. Generous people are faithful and loyal and these qualities strengthen all the relationships they have.
7. Generous People are Confident People
When you are not the center of your universe, you will find that you not only feel better about others, you feel better about yourself. Generous people do not get their self-worth from what they give, but by their freedom to give it. The insecurity that comes with greed, want and selfishness is not there to hinder them. They know they can be and do whatever their heart desires.
Featured photo credit: Feeding Birds/ Diego Cambiaso via flickr.com
