On being generous with our encouragement and praise May 17, 2014
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal growth, Self-Esteem.Tags: Confucius, encouragement, generosity, personal development, personal development potential, personal growth, philosophy, praise
add a comment
One of the concepts that we learn in our work on our personal growth is the principle of creating improvement in our empathy and in our spiritual side by being generous to others with our time and talents.
To this we could add being generous with our recognition of others and with our praise of others.
And, our encouragement should not only be given when someone’s project is not going well, or during a tough period in their life; but also for recognizing their successful achievements and efforts.
All of us all appreciate receiving praise and encouragement when we have done something well.
Generosity towards others with sincere recognition and praise is a mark of strong self-esteem and self-confidence.
Withholding it speaks to insecurity, and small-mindedness.
The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius spoke of encouragement of the good:
“The noble-minded encourage what is beautiful in people and discourage what is ugly in them. Little people do just the opposite.” (1)
(1) Confucius, The Analects, as translated by David Hinton in his book, The Four Chinese Classics
Personal growth: Developing the spirit of generosity May 11, 2014
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development, Tao Te Ching.Tags: abundance, generosity, Lao-tzu, Law of Reciprocation, personal development, personal growth, Personal growth and development, self-improvement, Tao Te Ching
add a comment
One of the precepts that we soon come across in a serious study of personal growth and development is what we might call an attitudinal + action version of the Law of Reciprocation.
In the case of bringing the concept of generosity into our self-improvement program, the law is straightforward: give and you will receive.
As we increase our self-awareness, and our knowledge of the principles of personal growth as it applies to our attitudes, emotions, and behaviour patterns, we discover how generosity can benefit us in many ways; in addition to helping the recipients of our generosity.
Although the true spirit of generosity requires that our actions be done without expectation of reward, nevertheless we gain as much, and possibly more, than those we are generous towards.
We can be generous with our time, our resources, our knowledge and skills, our understanding, our acceptance, and more.
The ancient Chinese wisdom writer Lao Tzu stated the concept concisely in this excerpt from chapter 81 of the Tao Te Ching:
A sage never hoards:
the more you do for others,
the more plenty is yours,
and the more you give to others,
the more abundance is yours. (1)
(1) Lao Tzu, the Tao Te Ching, as translated by David Hinton in his book, The Four Chinese Classics
Personal Development Ideas 