Identifying the intention with which we give and take is as simple as checking in with the type of statements that we relate to below.

You will find that you will be good at giving & taking in some parts of your life and need to improve in others. The beauty of this is if you have the skills in one area with the conscious awareness that you will gain through reading below, you will be able to quickly shift your ability from one place of your life to other areas.

GIVING with a Positive Intention

You feel light, open, happy & accessible when you doing & giving things to others.

You’ll find yourself thinking things like:
“It’s cool that I’m in a position to give”
“I love watching their happy reaction when I give to them”
“I feel grateful when I give some of what I have”

INSIGHT: The key to Giving with Positive Intention is to understand that at the core of doing anything for anyone else is always our need to look after ourselves. That is, we give to feel good. And when we can cleanly & openly own this, we feel light & free.

TAKING with a Positive Intention
You find yourself feeling self-nurtured, rejuvenated & strong.

You’ll be thinking:
“Taking time for myself is important to me.”
“Taking control of how I think is empowering.”
“I can take ownership for all I have done”
“I take responsibility for my choices.”
“By taking care of myself, I’m healthy & strong”

INSIGHT: Taking with a Positive Intention is an internal process ONLY. It is the critical starting point as without Taking with a Positive Intention we will have nothing within ourselves to give. So focus on where you need to take more ownership, accountability, control and care.
Note: We can not ‘Take’ from others or the environment with a Positive Intention. We can only Receive with a Positive Intention (there’s a blog coming on that!).

GIVING with a Negative Intention
You find yourself feeling heavy, stressed, tired, overwhelmed & resentful as you do & give things to others.

You’ll be thinking something along these lines:
“I should give them an invite because they’re family”
“I know they wouldn’t go to this effort to give me such a good time”
“I can’t believe they’re asking me to give them help, I wish I could say No!”
“I’ve got way too much on but they need me”

SHIFTING: The root cause of Giving with a Negative Intention stems from the fact that we do not know how to ‘Take with a Positive Intention’. Before we can look after and give to others we must first look after and give to ourselves.

Taking with a Negative Intention
You find yourself feeling tight & frustrate or lethargic & uncaring

Thoughts that run through your mind include:
“They should invite me, I’m family”
“It’s tedious it takes so long to get this”
“I can’t believe they go to this much effort, I wouldn’t”
“They seem tired, but they offered to do it so, ok!”

SHIFT: Taking with a Negative Intention means that your focus is outside of yourself and on what you need from others and from the environment. Rather than focusing on justifying & blaming others for why you to feel the way you do, you need to first focus on what you need from yourself which is to focus on Taking with a Positive Intention.