Contribution - Give a Little Love "& it all Comes Back to You - la, la, la, la-la-la-la"

Here at The Way of the Tortoise we hold up the tortoise (obvs) as a paragon of animals. He's got it all sorted and is a happy little fella. 

Happiness, for some people comes naturally but for the majority of us it's an aspect of life that needs a little focus (not too much though as it's all too easy to make the quest for happiness a stressful task). 

The Tortoise way is to win the race by moving slow and steady by carefully adopting positive daily habits (in other words doing a little bit of the right thing everyday). By doing this we can achieve our balance and become happier.

So where does the contribution part come in?

Pretty much all of the habits we point to regularly are about 'the self' - meditation, mindfulness, diet, exercise, affirmations, visualisation etc. But wait. With all this introspection there is a danger in becoming self-involved. That's where adopting a habit of contribution can help to redress the balance.   

If you have ever had to console a child who is feeling anxious, you';ll know that almost immediately you forget your own fears (or at least lesson them) by rationalising the situation for the child. You go into support mode for someone else who needs you. It's a powerful emotion and shouldn't be taken lightly. Daily contribution creates in you a sense of worth & purpose; you make a connection; your sense of social responsibility increases; and the more you help others the more you want to help others. Why? Because the need to feel connected runs deep in the human psyche. Connection has been identified as a base human need for us simple humans and in the 80 year Harvard study, has shown to increase longevity and create well being and happiness. 

Could you make a difference to someone else today? It might be a phone call or message to a friend or loved one to tell them how much you appreciate them (and you're being grateful too, that's another key habit to adopt), or it could be smiling at the checkout girl at the supermarket; being friendly or helpful to strangers. Really it could be anything as long as you're considering others and then demonstrating it. Just thinking it isn't enough, like they say, actions speak louder than words.

To sum up, if you help others you are helping yourself. So make it a habit today. This could change your life and someone else's.

(in case you missed the reference the title of this blog refers to the rather special song from Bugsy Malone!)

Klaus White is a Trainer, Educator, proud Dad, 
& co-founder of The Way of the Tortoise