An important thing about the law of reciprocity.

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, in  one way or another, but you definitely have. Maybe in the form of old sayings like: “Do onto others what you want done onto you”, “An eye for an eye…”, “You get what you give”, etc. It’s the law of reciprocity that basically states that “to every action there is a reaction”. But this law, as the sayings infer does not only acts on the physical plane of things; it does not only makes sure that everything that goes up comes down, but it also acts on our actions and on our behavior.

This is why every time someone does a favor to somebody else, even if it is not openly discussed, the person doing the favor will remain expectant until the other person returns the favor; and herein lays the basic mistake.

Of course we all have to help each other and of course we’ll always need help from somebody else! And it’s easy to imagine that if you keep helping different people be successful in their jobs, in their relationships or any other aspect of their lives, at least one of them will help you in return, but that should never be your reason to help.

The law of reciprocity does not work that way. You cannot expect special favors from life in exchange of having helped someone.

The law of reciprocity, in my opinion works the other way around: you are helping others in return for all the favors and blessings you have already received in life!

You are helping others, not so someone else can help you. You’ve already received such help! You are helping others because way before, life has favored you by putting you in the right position to do precisely that: Help.

So next time you have the opportunity to help someone else, leave aside the idea that you might get something in return and instead of that be grateful for all the blessings you have, because thanks to those, you are in the position to help.