We’ve all heard the old question: “What would you DO if you knew you could not fail?” How many of us have answered it, without making a commitment to doing anything about it?
Yeah, me too.
Recently, Liz Strauss blogged about giving when no one notices. That got me wondering. If we give with an expectation of some return, is it really a gift? Or is it a payment? Where is the line between a true gift and a payment/investment? As it turns out, every gift is an investment. The only difference is our expectation of the nature and timing of the payoff. Karin noted over at Liz’s post that “Givers always gain; receivers maybe”.
All this made me wonder if the “What would you do?” question isn’t inherently limiting. It focuses on the cause of a benefit, not on the benefit itself. And the benefit is the real goal. With the ‘do’ question we focus on ourselves. With the ‘give’ question, we focus on the benefit to both ourselves and others. It’s bigger; it’s win-win; in my mind, at least, it’s more compelling!
How does that feel to you?
Why not give it a try? Try answering the question “What gift would you give if you knew you could not fail?” It’s okay to start small, but doesn’t it give you more energy to think of things this way? Commit to giving just one gift like this, and let me know how it works!
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