Doing Unto Others

Human beings are social beings – study after study has proven this. We feel the most lasting satisfaction and meaning from our relationships with other people. We have a strong need to belong, to love and be loved, to feel needed and accepted. But how much love you can give – and accept – depends on how you feel about yourself.

Long before you can improve your relationships with others, you must first improve your relationship with yourself. If you don’t value and care for yourself, it is difficult to value and care for others. Remember, it is our inner thoughts, our inner beliefs, that get played out in the world around us.

Also, did you know that having a high sense of self-worth is contagious? You see, when your self-esteem is high, you almost automatically nurture and mentor those around you. With a solid self-estimate of your worth, ego doesn’t play an outsized role. It’s easy to give respect, support and encouragement to others when the ego is out of the way. And in the giving, you also are receiving.

Think back. In your years of working or playing in groups of people, large or small, who have you gravitated toward? Has it been those folks who unselfishly give to and support those around them? Has just being in their presence given a lift to your own sense of self?

To sum it up, how you feel about yourself directly affects how you live life and how you relate to others. So, it’s far from selfish to want to grow as a person and to feel a healthy, substantial sense of self-esteem. In fact, a higher sense of self-esteem will make you more generous. Because of this, most of us will do unto others as we do unto ourselves, so to speak.

When you live with a storehouse of quiet, deep gladness in your heart, you’ll be in a far better position to share, reach out, give and receive from others.