One of the things I've been practicing is being a good receiver. Sounds easy, right? Wrong... well at least for me. It was about 2 years ago when I woke up to the fact that I was a poor receiver. I had no problems in giving though... and thus the disparity. For example, I'd be in a fashion store & see a really nice sweater that I adored. I'd buy it, but send it to my sister in Australia.
But it doesn't just stop at material things either. One thing I constantly find challenging is to ask for help. Yes I would help anybody, especially if they asked for it... but asking of others?... Noooo.... that is just not done!!
About 2 years ago, I put myself through a ground-breaking 6-month Leadership course, where I uncovered all sorts of blind-spots about my own behaviors. Since then I've been much better about being courageous, such as picking up the phone or emailing friends to ask for their help when I needed it. I've discovered it is not as difficult as my "mind" tells me it is (darn mind.. don't you hate that darn mind... it messes everything up ;-)
What I've learned is my own "resistance" in doing something (such as picking up the phone) takes more energy than the actual doing. For example, one of my goals is to become an effective public speaker. I feel it is my passion or duty to reach my full potential as a speaker. Yes, I love it. But more importantly, it's a tool that if used wisely can influence the world for the better.
So here I was, about to enter a public speaking contest (I'm a huge fan of such a challenge because by going outside your comfort zone, the growth you experience is exponential. You are "forced" to work on aspects of your craft/science that you otherwise may not). One of my public speaking coaches that I respect greatly, Ed, says that it's best to practice speaking in front of a live audience. It's been a breakthrough for me to ask people to be my "test audience". So 2 weeks ago, I emailed a dozen friends in the local area, asking them if they would show up at my place at 4pm on a Saturday (with 1 days notice), and to my surprise, 6 of them show up, punctual, full of energy & tones of useful feedback.
Once again, the Universe provided, once I got out of my own way. The thing I discovered is that people, especially friends, are very very willing to help & be of service, if only you would let them.
Imagine there are 2 bar graphs, side by side. One bar represents "Giving" and the other one represents "Receiving". Now imagine that the 2 bars increase in height (like a battery life indicators). There is only 1 rule. The 2 bar graphs must be relatively even. If the "giving" bar gets higher and higher, and the "receiving" bar is low... then the "giving" bar stops growing... in which case, you must increase the "receiving" bar before the "giving" bar can continue to rise.
In summary, If you give give give and do not receive, then you are depleting your resources and disabling yourself to continue to give, which defeats the purpose.
So.... Give your heart out! and receive with open arms!!
