Tame the Primitive Brain: 28 Ways in 28 Days to Manage the Most Impulsive Behaviors at Work

Day 25

Give

Receive

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.

—Winston Churchill

Today you’ll tame:

• Age-old advice

There are some people at your workplace who, when asked a question, will deliver a 10-minute mini-lecture as an answer.

Often, we find that they never really understood our motivation for asking the question in the first place, and misheard it in any case. And though their answer may have been entertaining and interesting, it was, essentially, useless. We find this kind of “help” from them just plain !@#$ing annoying!

Then there are the people at your workplace who, when asked a question, say, “That’s a good question. What do you think about it?”

Then they listen, accept your thoughts, sometimes ask more questions, and finally offer their ideas to help you adjust your thinking.

Which approach do you like best?

You may well be aware that many of the oldest and wisest religious, philosophical, moral, and ethical models suggest that giving is better than receiving. And if you define living a long and healthy life as a great thing, then this principle is on the money—to an extent.

Better to Give . . .

Giving increases the giver’s longevity.

The are two kinds of giving I am talking about here. First is instrumental support; for example, when you lend a hand, pitch in, offer to pick up the slack, and generally do whatever it takes to help move others toward their goals. Then there’s emotional support, which revolves around making other people ...