It occurs to me that there are just three things that we freely give; our opinion, our time and our effort. Unlike other give-aways, when we give our time, opinion or effort we can never get them back, even if we want to.
Time, for instance, we frequently say we spent time here or we gave time there and possibly even passed time somewhere else. Have you ever tried to get that time back? No-can-do!
I gave my opinion the other day and offended a good friend and when I tried to take it back, I couldn’t.
On another occasion, I expended a lot of effort on a certain project that was going to make me a lot of money. It didn’t! When I tried to get it back, I couldn’t.
All three of these give-aways were intended for a purpose they did not achieve. I didn’t intend it that way but that is how it turned out.
The point here is that giving things away is not always a good thing. Once I gave away a valuable piece of art that was ultimately sold at a garage sale for less than $5.00. It is possible that the person who paid for it will realize its value and benefit, but I will likely never know it. I wish I had it back but likely will never see it again.
When I was a child, I never wanted the reputation of “Indian-giver”. I never really knew where that designation came from but I knew it meant that if I gave something away, I shouldn’t try to get it back, even if I wanted to.
The Lesson: The next time you give your opinion, time or effort away, do so carefully, knowing that you will never get any of them back. But, you can take some comfort in knowing that, at least in this case, you will never be called and “Indian-giver.”
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