"And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself."  Proverbs 11:24-25

A major cause of negative thinking and poor mental health is self-absorption. Selfishness ultimately hurts not only the people around a self-focused person, but also the selfish person himself. It inclines the person toward failure because it keeps him in a negative mental rut.

That is the reason that Dr. Karl Menninger responded the way he did when someone asked, “What would you advise a person to do if he felt a nervous breakdown coming on?” Most people expected him to reply, “Consult a psychiatrist,” since that was his profession. To their astonishment, Menninger replied, “Lock up your house, go across the railway tracks, find someone in need, and do something to help that person.”

My friend Kevin Myers points out that “most people are too insecure to give anything away.” I believe that’s true. Most people who focus all their attention on themselves feel that they’re missing something in their lives, so they’re trying to get it back.

Developing a giving spirit, as Menninger implied, helps a person to overcome some feelings of deficiency in a positive and healthy way. That’s why Menninger believed that “generous people are rarely mentally ill people.” A person is less likely to focus on himself if he is trying to help someone else.

Maxwell, John C. Falling Forward. N.p.: Harper Collins, n.d. Print.