We don’t have to look very hard to find it; it’s everywhere, the Me, Myself and I syndrome. Social media encourages it, songs, motivational speakers, influencers etc. – all projecting the need for us to focus on ourselves, it’s all about YOU.
We live in a time where individuals take tremendous delight in being self-centred and think only about their own needs and wants. More often than not, you will hear them say, ‘As long as my immediate family and I are happy, then to hell with everyone else.’
Many individuals believe that empowering or investing in others entails continually handing over money, or resources when they ask. However, genuinely successful individuals will tell you that investing in people is more helpful than giving them money.
Have you ever pondered what motivates people to go above and beyond what is expected of them for the good of others? When you empower people, it gives them the impression that you trust in their abilities and it affords them some level of self-awareness and impetus to overcome significant challenges around them. It also enables them to recognize their true potential.
When you deliberately empower people, you affect that person, the world and ultimately, yourself.
Here are Three Reasons why you must deliberately commit to Empowering People Around You:
1. It is the more Sustainable Way to use your Resources
Do you know the popular adage, “Give a man fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for life?” – Lao Tsu
This adage simply means that teaching a person any useful skill might be more beneficial in the long term than momentarily meeting a need for them. If you feed a hungry man with a fish, for instance, his hunger will be satiated for a brief period of time. Instead, if the man was taught to fish, he would be able to eat anytime he felt hungry. Well, assuming he is able to catch a fish whenever he wants to.
Imagine you are the only successful person in your entire family, street or community, it is only a matter of time before you are being pulled down. If all you are doing is giving others fish, it means that when they run out of supply, they will keep coming back to you. But, if you show a man how to make food for himself, he becomes productive for life.
2. You will Build Stronger Connections
“I believe that you can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”- Zig Ziglar
The act of caring and empowering others is so powerful because it creates deeper bonds as individuals lean on each other for all forms of support. If there is anything the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us so far, it is the importance of quality relationships. If you keep giving handouts to someone, you are forming an unhealthy dependency. However, when you invest in others, it strengthens your relationships, allowing you to form deeper connections that can provide much-needed emotional support during hard times. Change in life is constant, no man is ever certain of what tomorrow holds, you never know when you may need to tap into the network you’ve been building.
3. You Play Your Part in Building the Nation
“We rise by lifting others.” – Robert Ingersoll
When you help others, you are contributing to equipping the society as a whole by transferring knowledge and skills, which creates a domino effect. Not only do you inspire others, but those people you invest in are empowered to pay it forward and impact the nation.
Furthermore, recent studies show that caring for others is good for us. It is beneficial to our well-being, leading to reduced stress, increased happiness and increased sense of social connectedness. The reality is when we are less stressed, happier and better socially integrated, we make better decisions for the long-term.
So, change your mind-set about giving and investing in people. Money goes a long way in helping others but teaching them to be productive will have a greater lifetime value impact.
Remember, You Have Only One Life to Live, MAKE IT COUNT!
