One way to be frustrated and unhappy is to keep giving and finding a lack of reciprocation. It can sound noble, but you can also get burned out from a lack of reward which comes naturally through trading.
Healthy and fulfilling relationships depend on trading.
A vibrant economy comes from efficient trade.
Merit and achievement come from trading up with effort, intentionality and good deal making.
You may not be clear in this area. You may not be happy. How about taking a look at how you do business and life with this simple focus by examining who reciprocates.
Then invest your best in the people that like to reciprocate. It will make you much more happy than being drained by takers or those that don’t partake in reciprocating.
Here’s an easy process to implement:
- Look at the people in your life you want to build relationships with.
- Think deeply about what they care about.
- Give each person value first by being valuable.
- Watch.
- Trade when they trade.
In step 4 above, if you don’t see reciprocation, determine whether your act was real value or only valuable to you, not the other person. Try again if you determine you missed on value.
If you did provide real value, then you likely have a taker. Restrain yourself and leave the ball in their court.
Trading is healthy, not only for good business, but it is also for sustainability. The last thing you want to do is build up resentment and burn out.
Life is short, so invest in the best people.
Life is also long in how many opportunities there are to give. Best to place your bets in the areas that reward you well.
What do you think? Who can you trade with regularly with your best?
Great article. The bullet point number 4 is perhaps the foundation of where one begins. Watching and learning what the person finds of value. Takes first the desire to engage and with the person. If the desire to engage is based upon the want to receive then the relationship starts and finishes as a sprint. Burnout may persist. Hopefully after the first interactions you find that you may be able to trade on the long term and run the marathon. Also, it may be the case what the person finds valuable is so opposite than what you find value in you miss it all together. However it may be something easily provided. Comparing marriages and how they work you find this trading all of time. Often it takes inverted wisdom on the partners to provide the trading required to exchange to the point of commuted love.