In our jobs, relationships, friendships, and the rest of our lives, we often wonder what we are getting ‘out of them’.
John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”. This is an extremely powerful question. It can be used for any area of your life, and in fact it can be used with regard to your whole life. Victor Frankl said, “Ask not what you can expect of life – ask what life expects of you.”
Regardless of what area of your life you are asking about, the most important thing is your level of contribution.
A good example of this is employment. Instead of thinking about what they can provide their employer, many people focus on what benefits the job will provide for them. With that in mind, if you look carefully at the people you know, I am sure you will see that those who focus on making a bigger contribution for their employers are often the most successful at what they do.
This applies in all areas of your life. Over the long haul, you will get so much more out of positive contributions you make than what you put in. Remember how Isaac Newton stated that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction? I’m no scientist, but I think he may have made a small error here. In other words, for every action you take, there is an equal or greater reward sometime in the future!