What Can I Do For You
What are your first thoughts when you meet another person?
People who have a strong tendency to be takers, think, "What can this
person do for me?" People who have a strong tendency to be critical,
think, "What can I find that is negative about this person?" Some
people tend to think, "Do I like or respect this person or not?" And
others focus on the question, "Do I feel comfortable in the presence of
this person?" And yet others think about, "What does this person think
of me?"
When you meet someone, let your first thought be, "What can I do for
this person?" This way you will view each encounter with a fellow human
being as an opportunity to give and help.
It is relatively easy to develop the habit of asking this question. At
first, you need to deliberately ask yourself this question over and
over again. Asking it enough times will cause it to pop into your mind
automatically. After a while, as soon as you meet someone you will hear
the question, "What can I do for this person?"
Stop for a few minutes right now and repeat many times, "What can I do
for this person?" Enjoy the process and feel the joy rising within you.
As you repeat the question, "What can I do for this person" think of
specific people you know. Begin with people you like a lot. Then think
of those towards whom you are neutral. Finally, think about those with
whom you experience difficulty when you deal with them.
We all need the assistance and encouragement of others at one time or
another. When you think about how you can help a person whose help you
need, you needn't think of it in terms of bartering: "He is doing
something for me, so I will do something for him." Rather, this can be
viewed as part of your general attitude of wanting to help others even
more than you want others to help you. Even if someone has more
resources than you do, you still might be able to say or do something
to enhance his life.
We often hear the expression, "When you look for something, you will
find it." It's easy to find blemishes, mistakes, errors and limitations
in others. When you look down at people they feel the negative energy
emanating from you, which makes it difficult to get along with others.
After you practice asking "What can I do for this person" for a couple
of weeks, you will experience a major shift in the way you feel towards
others. Much of the stress that you formerly felt will melt away and
you will have more energy and joy than ever before.
By: Rinah Shalom