Wednesday Whiteboard Quote - February 25

"Coming from a giving place means you aren't waiting to receive."

We hold the door for someone and get slighted when they don't say thank you or acknowledge us.

We give a friend a birthday present and feel disappointed when they don't reach out to us on ours.

We are always the friend who reaches out first, and we get frustrated that nobody ever initiates with us.

As the Stoics would say, looking for something in return is chasing the third thing. The first is you doing something for someone, the second is them receiving it, and the third is when we chase a certain response from them. Chasing the third thing is what transforms an act of selflessness, giving without looking for anything in return, into a prison.

"Nobody ever says thank you anymore..."

"I must not be memorable enough for them to know my birthday..."

"Nobody must like me since they never reach out first..."

We must seriously ask ourselves whether our giving is genuine or only because we are looking for something in return. Giving is easy and a joy when we don't need anything from it.