Women who have reached position of prominence… have not always been the best supporters of new measures to encourage female activism.
—Anna Coote and Beatrix Campbell—
Generosity is a problem for some; they feel resentful.
Giving to others seems unfair to them:” nobody gave anything to me,” they’ll say. “I had to fight for everything I got.”As if that were a reason to deny others. Giving to others takes nothing away from us; on the contrary, it refreshes the soul. Yet the fear that someone else’s success will mean our failure will keep us resentful and competitive. Competition is drummed into us as children. It’s a hard lesson to unlearn. But there aren’t many traits that are unsuitable—and so frustrating—as cutthroat competition. The person who must compete is doomed to unhappiness and to a sense of inadequacy. We’ll stop the hopeless attempt to best others only when we achieve the serenity of knowing that each of us is the best at only one thing: being ourselves. Being the best me I can often involves my helping others.