Everything is give-and-take in life at the end of the day. Give money, get the education. Put in the hours of studying, get the grade. The key is fair trade. But who decides what is fair? I mean if I don’t have to put in as much but still get a lot out of something then that’s a good deal for me. That works for purchases, and schoolwork, but when it comes to people thats just playing games with them if you ask me.
Investing time and effort in others is not only for their happiness, its for the subconscious expectation on the favor returned. To feel important, loved, and know that you matter just as much. You might not want to accept that there is expectations for the fair trade, but its human nature. So what happens when that isn’t the case, and you start to feel like someone who is 20% off or on sale?
It comes down to how high you set the bar for yourself and your worth and everything you do to keep the bar there. Some compromise and wiggle room every once in a while is all good, but keeping it fair is important, or else you could become irrelevant eventually. People are so consumed by instant satisfaction, that they forget move towards the next best thing as soon as they acquire what they wanted before.
You can’t do that with people. Don’t play games.
Dissonance in the Harmony 