To be a generous person, you don’t have to empty your wallet. Moreover, many of the most impressive acts of generosity are investments of time, energy, talent, and love related to the specific needs of others. And such generous gestures are possible for anyone.
1. Switch attention
Attention is the most valuable gift we can give someone. This is where generosity begins—with the willingness to shift the focus from oneself to someone else and their needs.
Truth be told, it can be hard. Each of us spends most of our time in our own world, and often we don’t want to delve into other people’s problems. So we put up an invisible barrier, and the people who could benefit from our participation never get it.
The generosity of attention is the generosity of the willingness to be slightly uncomfortable, the willingness to remove guards, to sacrifice your time and take the risk of caring for someone else. For example, getting close to a specific person who needs help, or spending half an hour learning about a common problem and ways to contribute to its solution.
2. Build bridges
This type of generosity involves the ability to accommodate those with whom we disagree, and it is more important now than ever. Many controversies today play out publicly on the Internet, with huge audiences simply following them online. Although it would be better if we could find a satisfactory solution to at least some of these conflicts.
Reaching out to critics is difficult because it means sacrificing personal comfort, even for the common good of uniting people. But if you succeed in this, you can get the additional benefit of changing the tone of public debate. And this is a gift for all of us.
Try it 🙄
3. Share knowledge
Like attention, it is a very valuable gift – knowledge that helps solve problems, satisfy needs, or pave the way forward. If you have information that could benefit someone else, think about how you could share it to start a wave of change.
You may only need a few hours of preparation to write a social media post or speak at a professional conference, but your ideas and experiences could impact someone’s life for years to come.
4. Make connections
This type of generosity is about helping people connect with each other. The easiest way to do this is to introduce them to each other as often as possible. If you ask how someone met their crush, got their dream job, or found the perfect employee, most likely the answer will be that they were introduced to the right person by a friend, neighbor, or colleague. By introducing people to each other, you give them access to your social circle. And the network of useful acquaintances begins to grow rapidly.
5. Show hospitality
In his book “Human Universals” American anthropologist Donald Brown mentions hospitality among the hundreds of behaviors that are present in every culture. And it is also a form of generosity.
Of course, inviting a friend or someone who may become a friend in the future to visit requires some expense, as well as effort. It’s easier to watch the next episode of your favorite series. But hospitality is connected with our deep need for contacts with others, and each such contact evokes a desire to reciprocate.
6. Create moments of magic
People certainly need money, food, a roof over their heads and a functioning healthcare system. But they also need beauty, wonder, laughter and other elements of magic – something that goes beyond the usual everyday experience. And the one who knows how to create such moments gives others a very valuable and generous gift.
We develop various useful qualities 🧐