WHAT DO OTHER PEOPLE THINK OF YOU?

 

Is it my imagination or am I just growing more cynical with age? It seems to me that the "taker" population is growing faster and the "giver" population is shrinking more every year.  

In an online article, Maria Popova does a very good job of distinguishing a "taker" from a "giver." 

"Takers have a distinctive signature: they like to get more than they give. They tilt reciprocity in their own favor, putting their own interests ahead of others’ needs. Takers believe that the world is a competitive, dog-eat-dog place. They feel that to succeed, they need to be better than others. To prove their competence, they self-promote and make sure they get plenty of credit for their efforts. Garden-variety takers aren’t cruel or cutthroat; they’re just cautious and self-protective. “If I don’t look out for myself first,” takers think, “no one will.”

"In the workplace, givers are a relatively rare breed. They tilt reciprocity in the other direction, preferring to give more than they get. Whereas takers tend to be self-focused, evaluating what other people can offer them, givers are other-focused, paying more attention to what other people need from them. These preferences aren’t about money: givers and takers aren’t distinguished by how much they donate to charity or the compensation that they command from their employers. Rather, givers and takers differ in their attitudes and actions toward other people. If you’re a taker, you help others strategically, when the benefits to you outweigh the personal costs. If you’re a giver, you might use a different cost-benefit analysis: you help whenever the benefits to others exceed the personal costs. Alternatively, you might not think about the personal costs at all, helping others without expecting anything in return. If you’re a giver at work, you simply strive to be generous in sharing your time, energy, knowledge, skills, ideas, and connections with other people who can benefit from them."

Personally, I believe that the "takers" might be getting ahead for now, but I also believe that their progress is only a short-term gain. I believe that they will reap exactly what they sow sooner or later. Some people call it "justice." Some people call it "karma." I believe that "givers" are always richly rewarded in the long run so I keep trying to be a "giver' and leave it up to God to take care of the "takers."