You feel happiest when you create a healthy balance between giving and receiving. If you give without spending time filling your own needs, then it’s likely you will burn out, or feel upset. When you take without giving anything back, you never feel fulfilled, so you are always searching for ways to fill the empty space in your life.
The way to create a healthy balance between giving and receiving is to know and then live by your values. I break values up into two groups which I call “being” values and “having” values.
Your “being” values are the personalities (性格) of the ideal (理想的) person you would like to be. People can choose some “being” values that they are willing to make a promise to live by. An example of some “being” values are: kind, loving, generous, peaceful, wise and even powerful. By acting on these values, you give to others through your actions and you inspire (激励) others by being a positive role model. Mastering being these personalities becomes your life purpose.
Your “having” values are the feelings you need to create in order to be happy. These could be companionship, achievement or support. This is what you receive. You take responsibility for filling your own needs by taking steps to create these feelings and conditions in your life.
When you make a promise to live by your “being” values, it becomes easier to make conscious (慎重的) choices. If you usually talk about your problems, you could choose to think and act like a calm person. A calm person might go for a walk, or set a time limit before you react. If you usually worry about something, you could choose to act like a responsible or wise person. A responsible or wise person might have the courage to deal with difficulties they meet. In other words, you would act like the person you choose to be—this is the key to personal power.
When you choose to act on your values, you not only feel good about yourself, but you make your chosen beliefs stronger. Over time acting in this way changes how you see the world, and in turn the way other people think of you.
【小题1】The word “fulfilled” in Paragraph 1 probably means “______”.| A．satisfied | B．disappointed | C．awful | D．powerful |
| A．get a lot of power | B．receive support from others |
| C．fill your own needs | D．form positive personalities |
| A．Having values are more important than being values. |
| B．The way other people think of you changes your values. |
| C．You may shake your beliefs when your values are clear to you. |
| D．Acting on your values can help balance what you give and receive. |
| A．To show the importance of giving. | B．To explain what personal values are. |
| C．To tell people how to be truly happy. | D．To encourage people to have a life purpose. |
