Learning to Give - P4
What does it take to be a bodybuilder? Big muscles? Ability to lift heavy weights? A sports bottle with a protein supplement in it? Not really. What really differentiates a bodybuilder from the rest of us slouches is time in the gym. Runners, rowers, climbers, wrestlers, all of the sports’ disciplines involve time spent doing the discipline.
How about specialists in particular professional fields? How do you become a nurse, an engineer, lawyer or have a doctorate in anything? You have to put time into studying and practicing that in which you specialize? Business is the same way. Frankly, family is the same way. Just because you have a child does not make you a parent. But that is definitely a tangent we will not go down today.
Giving is also something that is learned through participation and perfected by diligent practice. It can be difficult thinking in this manner because giving is generally tied solely to the act. We really don’t consider what goes into giving, actively giving. If Giving is tied only to the point at which a donation is made than all which comes before the actual push of the button or writing of the check or swiping of the card, is disconnected. But that which comes before the donation is just as much a part of giving. Discovery of the giving opportunity, paying attention to the signals of need, researching and understanding an opportunity is part of the Giving process as well.
The overall process involved in a Life of Giving is learned and perfected. We at eMite believe that this is true and want to help people who may already be givers or who have never given anything in their life, nurture a Life of Giving. So we are taking this series to a more practical level now and diving into how we can create a Life of Giving. Future installments of our Giving Encouragement blog will focus on outlining and developing those practices which encourage the giving life. We will include practical, useful tips on how to research giving opportunities and how to engage those opportunities for maximum impact.