Someone said, “I’ve achieved my goals that I set for myself, but I’m still not happy. I keep looking for new things to accomplish. I keep thinking about what else needs to be improved about myself.” This is not an uncommon sentiment. Self improvement can be an addiction. And like other addictions, it has roots in some other issue that we are not addressing effectively. Read on to find out how to become happy with your success!

Scarcity Mindset – How It Starts

At some point, a person decides that they are not enough. They are not healthy enough, or kind enough, or wealthy enough. For a some reason, we decide that we are not enough for in some certain way. And we found the motivation to began addressing it.

Let’s suppose it was health, that we want to lose 30 pounds. Now that we’ve succeeded in that, we should be happy! Shouldn’t we? Well we do feel healthier. Somehow though you still don’t feel perfect. You start to think that maybe you need to cut out some other food that’s bothering you? Maybe you need a more intense workout program? Maybe you need to meditate?

Any of these ideas might have a positive influence on your health. But possibly none of these will make you happy either. Because while you’ve improved your health, you have not change the scarcity mindset. Scarcity mindset is the belief that there isn’t enough. In this case, the belief is that you are not good enough to be healthy or happy in this life. Only when we address this mindset, can we free ourselves from the compulsion to obtain or achieve more.

Charity – the Antidote to Scarcity

We teach a simple solution to the scarcity: to share what you have. Charity is one of the three principles we teach to help people live a positive and meaningful life. It might seem counter-intuitive that you would give away stuff when you feel like you don’t have enough. But it surely and gradually transforms your mentality.

Charity can be practiced in many forms beyond sharing your wealth. Certainly sharing your wealth and resources is the most obvious way. You can also share your physical ability. You can help someone move something heavy. You can help someone put up holiday decorations. You can drive someone to the airport. These are ways you can share your physical self for those who can benefit from it.

You can also share your knowledge and experience. Sticking with our example of having lost 30 pounds. You can help others do the same. You can motivate them, teach them your strategy, and cheer them on in their journey.

As you witness people benefit from what you have to share, you will realize the value of what you achieved. This is the magic of turning a mindset of scarcity into a mindset of abundance.

Charity – the Key to Meaningfulness

Those of us who become good at working towards our goals can become addicted to doing so. But what is it all for? What is the point of becoming the best that we can?

As we share the success that we’ve achieved: our resources, our abilities, our knowledge, we start to transform the people and the world around us. Life is no longer a game of solitaire. We start to see that our life matters. Our actions have a positive effect on the world we live in. This awareness that you gain through this is infinitely more valuable than what you gave away.

In reaching our goals, we develop confidence. But in helping others reach their goals, we create an enduring sense of meaningfulness in our lives.

Do you have a story of how something you shared really made a difference in people’s lives? Please tell your story in the comments!