The Art of Giving is The Art of Living - Avinash Ananda



The Art of Giving is The Art of Living,
By Avinash Ananda

This is a special post, featuring an article written by my friend, my mentor and World's leading happiness and leadership coach - Avinash Ananda in Jan 2022. I am reproducing the contents with his permission to reach a different audience. I was honored to receive the Global happiness centric leadership excellence award from him in 2024. This award was given by Meta Mind International, in association with Kotler Impact and HRD India.

See pic below.



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"Give not for Getting, but for the Joy of Giving." - Avinash Ananda

When I speak of giving, what I mean is to contribute to others selflessly, abundantly, and joyfully.

You could contribute positive energy, a smile, and gifts (both material and non-material). Even your work could be an act of contributing when you work with love, joy, and excellence. The act of listening with 100 per cent attention and care is also an example of giving.

"The more you give, the more you will get" This is the Law of Giving.

We must go deeper into this law to understand a paradox about "giving" that is within it! If you give because you want to get, you probably won't get it. If you give selflessly just for the joy of giving without expecting to get anything more than that joy, usually you get much more than the joy!

What you give will always come back to you multifold, especially if you are not doing the accounting and keeping records of whom you gave what to, or even expecting it back. Abundance in giving for the joy of giving keeps the energy flowing.

 Even in business, the way to earn money consistently and repeatedly is to add value, to contribute… to give. Leadership is not just about taking charge...Leadership is more about taking care of those in your charge. By contributing to their growth and development.

Businesses become great when they take care of the interests of their employees, customers, community, and all other stakeholders.

To be able to develop the art of giving as an integral part of who you are, you must cultivate and nurture an Abundance Mindset.

I will tell you this from personal experience: If you develop an Abundance Mindset and if you give without attachment or expectation and if you give with love... instead of being constipated or petty or calculating when you give...you will never experience any lack of anything in your life.

Those who are afraid to give, do not realize this truth. What you hold on to slips away from you. The greatest security is in letting go of the need for security. Play the game of life with trust, even in uncertainty. When there is no logic, trust the magic. 

It's like a trapeze artist in a circus who jumps from one swinging bar to another, both at great heights, with such ease and confidence. He trusts that someone will catch him. He trusts the safety net below will never allow him to get hurt. And he never does get hurt. Even if he falls, he bounces back effortlessly! 

You may ask me, " What or who should I trust?" Frankly, it doesn't matter much, as long as you trust that all will be well for you. Trust yourself, trust your mentor, trust your family, trust God, trust your organization, trust your philosophy... trust whatever helps you to feel confident... but trust something or someone. And feel confident enough to give without fear and to progress.

I share with you here some lines from a poem by Khalil Gibran that are relevant to this attitude of abundance and giving.

"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. 

There are those who have little and give it all. These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

 There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward. It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding.

 You often say, "He would give, but only to the deserving." The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture. They give that they may live. And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream."

So be a giver. And make it an integral part of who you are.

The Art of Giving is The Art of Living

By Avinash Ananda

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