It's a minimalist Monday Christmas edition of Optimal Living Daily episodes 745,

giving the gift of Christmas and receiving gifts from others.

Both by Joshua Becker of becoming minimalist.com and I'm Justin Mollick,

your personal narrator reading to you every day including holidays obviously,

just like an audiobook free of charge, mostly from blogs but sometimes from books like tomorrow

will be from a book and always with permission from the websites.

I'm Mary Christmas to you if you're celebrating, can't believe it's already here.

This is actually the third Christmas of this podcast if you can believe it.

I started this in December of 2015 so it's been around for two years but now has had three

Christmas's which is crazy. For now let's get right to today's two posts as we optimize your life.

Giving the gift of Christmas by Joshua Becker of becoming minimalist.com

You give but little when you give of your possessions and is when you give of yourself

that you truly give. Kaleo J'bran is better to give than receive. We hear it all the time,

especially this time of year but sometimes I wonder if we really believe it. We say the phrase as if

the generalization is a foregone conclusion. We printed on bumper stickers and billboards. We

teach it to our children. Man we monitor it under our breath when circumstances don't go as expected

but in reality the axiom is difficult to live out. We live in a world that seeks personal gain

even encourages it. Man as a result we want to make sure that things we receive are equal to the

gifts that we give but I think the statement does ring true it is better to give than receive.

This website stands as proof. The accumulation possessions offers only short-term pleasure

that fades quickly. On the other hand generosity and giving offers a long lasting happiness,

purpose and fulfillment. It is better to give than receive and the stakes only get higher when

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