We Need A Balance of Giving and Receiving

Are you always giving, helping, and fixing?

And rarely if ever ask for anything?

Are you uncomfortable when someone gives you a present?

What would happen if you practiced receiving?

Receiving appreciation.

Receiving compliments.

Receiving is a form of giving.

Receiving rather than deflecting or minimizing them is a gift to the giver.

When we deflect or minimize we are not honoring the giver’s perspective.

Receiving is also a form of balance. Like systole and diastole.

When we give and don’t receive - we end up depleted. Empty. Lonely. Exhausted.

For many of us in caretaking, parenting, and physician roles, giving is comfortable, and receiving is not.

Receiving is uncomfortable AND valuable.

What might happen if you practiced receiving?

Might you feel more valued?

Might it be a way of valuing yourself and the giver of the compliment or the gift?

Might it be a path to more equanimity?

Might it lead to repletion, connection, and more inner peace and wellness?

Lastly, if you are new to receiving- start slow. Receive little by little. A trickle at a time rather than rushing rapids. It’s kind.