The Law of Reciprocity can be summed up in one quick sentence: do unto others as you would have done to yourself. It\’s the golden rule. It is the way a perfect society would be run, you are kind to others and they are kind to you. But the Law of Reciprocity goes one step further in that it also states that what you do will be returned back to you. In other words, if you help someone today, those who believe in the law of reciprocity believe that you also will be helped in some way by someone else.
Some of these things were rules we lived by as children. If we wanted to have friends we had to be friendly. If we were going to be a bully today we would probably be bullied by someone larger and stronger than us tomorrow. Essentially, this is the law of reciprocity. The more you help others, the more you are helped in the more you hurt others, the more you are hurt.
Copywriters and salespeople use this law in order to help close more sales and improve their return on investment. Using reciprocation may offer something of value to their future customer believing that individuals will feel more apt to give something back in return, their credit card, when they receive something first. This is actually a very functional way of describing and utilizing this law.
But the Law of Reciprocity is not reciprocation described above. Reciprocation is actually transactional reciprocity where individuals receive something back almost immediately-value given for value received. It\’s more of a tit-for-tat operation that produces success in the sales world but does not really describe the complete Law of Reciprocity.
Those who truly practice the law believe that you can not pursue power behind this law because when you tried to you get directly you have lost sight of the reason for it. The reason behind the Law of Reciprocity is to help others achieve their goals and thereby improve your own self-esteem, self perception and self-image.
Instead, the help you receive by helping others may not come directly from the individual to you helped, but rather from someplace completely different. It is a law of giving and receiving favors in a common exchange.
Understand that when you deny help offered by others that you are denying them the opportunity of giving. Most of the time we are uncomfortable with receiving and are more apt to give to others than to find comfort in receiving from them. But if we all felt that way and operated by giving and not receiving there would be no one receiving our gifts.
Instead, it is important to recognize that when others wish to give to you you are allowing them the opportunity of giving to others so that they may also receive in return. All parties benefit from the relationship that is mutually rewarding so that it does not cause an imbalance in the reciprocity.
When you do for others you make a favorable impression on them and when you accept from others you make a favorable impression on them. Relationships are able to blossom when courtesy kindness, honesty and respect are the basic tenets upon which relationships are built. Reciprocity is actually a basis for legitimate power and trust. It is the principle that you give to the world what you want the world to give to you.