subject: A Higher Sense Of Contribution [print this page] Id like to make an assertive statement hereId like to make an assertive statement here. Having a higher sense of contribution, meaning raising the level of your contribution, is highly desirable not only for the people on the receiving end, but also for you as the person doing the contributing. This isnt just wishful thinking. You, I and everyone will be better off when we each have a higher sense of contribution and we act upon it. So we might as well get to it. Delaying your contribution just means delaying the positive effect that you yourself will experience.
Whats important is the notion of a higher sense. Quantity alone in terms of contribution may not be enough. For example, systematically holding doors open for people or giving a dollar to every charity you come across. When you stop for a moment and look back at what youve done, 10,000 doors each held open for a different person or even 10,000 charities helped in the amount of $1 may be commendable, but whats the real impact? Although you could argue that if everybody gave $1 to the same charities, their power to do good would significantly increase, your contribution disappears in the general level of noise, and youre still missing out on a lot of the potentially positive effect of your contribution on you.
So if youre going to make a contribution, then let it be something focused, something corresponding to a higher sense of contribution something that links up with meaning and purpose in your life. In our example, instead of 10,000 charities funded with $1 each, find one charity that can really leverage $10,000 to good purpose. And if you cant find a charity like that, then start one of your own. A contribution like this with an impact at a higher level serves a dual purpose. It benefits a sector of society (whichever the sector is that is being addressed by the charity) and it strengthens your understanding of who you are and why you are here. Theres nothing quite like being able to look back at a specific result like that and say I did that.
So whats stopping us? If theres something thats doing this, its probably the misconception that a higher sense of contribution impoverishes the contributor and enriches all the others. Can you imagine what would happen if we managed to get rid of this misconception? Ill tell you. When people understand that they are in fact being rewarded for contributing, then theyll contribute willingly. So whod like to contribute a public relations plan to fix this and to be able to say Yes, I did that?
