How Much of a Damn Do You Really Give? A Look at Selfishness

When the clock struck midnight on January 1st of 2021, everyone was hoping that we would leave 2020 behind. Turns out, we dragged 2020 right over into the new year. Yes, I said “we did it,” because it’s true. The year 2020 is just a number. But we associate that number with something bad because it’s the year we faced a global pandemic. It’s the year that political tensions busted through the seams and led our country’s citizens to cry out for justice. There have been murders. There have been protests, both peaceful and violent. There has been division amongst our citizens. It’s the year that we learned to not trust anything or anyone –our family, friends, neighbors, doctors, scientists, and even those in positions of authority like law enforcement and government officials. 

Our country has reached a point where we don’t know what to believe anymore. And that scares all of us. Fear drove us in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic drove so much fear into us that everyone went out in March and bought every last roll of toilet paper. And then, so much conflicting information has been shared about coronavirus on social media, that many don’t trust the guidelines from our nation’s top medical experts. Some people won’t wear masks in public because they are scared it’s the first step in having their freedom taken away. Some don’t even trust the results of our recent presidential election because our leader has sown the seed of distrust and pushed the narrative that there’s two sides – one of which is good while the other is evil. 

This turmoil has created a fog of uncertainty that none of us can see through anymore. We can’t see beyond what’s best for our own selves. We aren’t thinking of each other as humans. We have been pushed this past year to see one another as a threat. A threat to our own personal liberty and happiness. But this isn’t true. 2020 made it abundantly clear that we all give a damn. But we all give a damn mostly about ourselves and our own viewpoints. Now, we need to look at the bigger picture. We need to stop seeing our fellow Americans and neighbors as the enemy, as good or evil. We need to see each other as humans. None of us want to see our country’s citizens dying from the coronavirus or at the hands of one another. We all want to live in the country that is the land of the free. We all want our families and loved ones to be safe, and protected, and healthy. But we need to look beyond the small bubble we live in. We need to take the damn we give about ourselves and apply it to every aspect of our lives and to everyone around us. This is the ticket to cultural change. It’s the key to healing the deep-seeded issues of our country that existed way before the year 2020. 2020 was just the magnifying glass that enlarged the problems that already existed. And these problems can get worse or they can get better, but they aren’t going away. It’s up to us to come together. To step out of our selfishness and into selflessness. 2021 is the time to give a damn. 

If there is hope for Americans to move forward together as a country, it lies in the promise that the philosophy behind GIVE A DAMN can bring people together from different cultures and disparate viewpoints. Once we can come together with one mission in mind, we can work collaboratively for the greater common good.Whether it is an unexpected act of kindness or being sincerely interested in every word that a friend says, this is our chance to make a tangible difference in our communities and our country.

Ask yourself if you give a damn. Really. . . do you? And do you know how? Many people answer yes and they long for positive change. Yet, most don’t really know how to or just don’t understand. This is why I started the Give a Damn movement for people to join. Give a Damn is the change we need to become a more loving, altruistic, and caring society. As millions join this grassroots movement, we can show others how this mindset improves our lives. Be a part of something that can help change the world, and it costs nothing. By giving a damn, we become a happier and healthier society, and we live longer!. Take the American Accountability pledge today and agree to make the world a better place by implementing the Give a Damn principles in your daily life. 

Individually you make a difference, collectively we change the world. MARCH 19, 2021Five Simple but Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs MakeGive a Damn and Wear a Mask …. Please? (for yourself and more importantly for others!)TAKE THE ACCOUNTABILITY PLEDGE AND JOIN THE GAD MOVEMENT 

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Reactionary thinking. As humans, we are all susceptible to it – especially during challenging times when we are filled with fear, tension, and uncertainty. It can be natural to react defensively to our circumstances, other people, and the things we can’t control. It feels like we are protecting ourselves and our beliefs when those things feel threatened. But reactionary thinking is a slippery slope and works to divide when it goes unchecked. In turn, it causes those around you to react in the same way. And before you know it, our entire society has become reactionary. This has led almost everyone to look out for themselves. 

Everyone is focused on their own self-interests. We often don’t think about our actions and the effects they may have on others anymore. This all leads to an ego self-driven society where only you can win and everyone else has to lose. Our own Congress is the perfect example. Democrats and Republicans have to win at all costs. It’s a “heads I win, and tails you lose” scenario. There is no “let’s meet halfway” mentality anymore. There is no compromise or teamwork, or even self-improvement. But things don’t have to stay this way. As a solution, society needs to implement the “shotgun approach.”We need to ask ourselves in every situation – would we do the same thing or react the same way towards a loved one? Once we personalize this type of attitude, we have an entirely different perspective towards whatever we are dealing with. We need to adopt this approach and use it towards all people, whether we have ties to them or not. Why? Because we are all human. 

The Give A Damn philosophy encourages people to THINK. It encourages people to think about others, their communities, their country. It helps people recognize how they can improve their well-being by doing for others, which in turn affects those around them and their surroundings. Next time you feel yourself heading towards reactionary thinking, take a few seconds to pause and reflect before acting or speaking. Aim to figure out what is causing you to react that way and how you can shift your perspective for your own good, but more importantly, for the good of others and society. If we want to see a change in the people we work with, live in a community, and call our fellow citizens, we must start somewhere. Starting to Give A Damn can start home and can begin with just you. Let’s change our thinking and work towards being kinder and more compassionate to our fellow human beings. Then everyone wins.