The Reciprocity Principle
September 17, 2007By E. Brown
Did you know you cannot out-give? If you give to someone, they will almost always want to give more back. This is the Principle of Reciprocity.
When you look out for your friends and co-workers, they will want to return the favor. Giving is infectious.
The only drawback is the motivation for giving. If you give out of selfish ambition, then guess what? You may get something back, but it will never be what you hoped or as much as you hoped for. And, when you do not get anything back, you only done harm to yourself because you are the one left feeling hacked-off.
Don’t give to get.
When you give, not expecting a return, the reciprocal giving is that much sweeter. And, when you give, not expecting a return, your feelings will not have been hurt if you receive nothing in return.
Take a look around your “world”, your social network, your clients, your friends and family — who can you give to?
Have fun!
I love this. I’ve always been motivated by the idea that you can get anything you want in this world if you will help enough people get what they want. For some reason I’m thinking about Tiger Woods right now (because I was just reading about his winning the FedEx cup). Tiger is getting more than what he’s ever asked for because he is helping enough other people get what they want – to see a master at work. People enjoy seeing the best. Do you see this connectivity between the principle of reciprocity and being your very best at what you do?