“He who will not grant a favour has no right to ask one”
Publilius Syrus
In today’s fast-paced world, having a support system can be crucial to success, both in personal and professional life. While money and material possessions are valuable, it’s often the connections we have with others that provide us with the greatest opportunities for growth and advancement. This is where the concept of favours as the biggest currency comes into play.
What are favours?
Favours, in simple terms, refer to acts of kindness. It is the help that we give to someone without expectation of immediate return. Doing favours without expectations of immediate return, results in an environment of trust.
In his best selling book “Influence” Robert Cialdini states that, human beings are wired to return favors. We want to pay back debts—to treat others as they’ve treated us.
This feeling of reciprocity ensures that humans hate to feel indebted to others! Doing a favour for someone, creates a debt or obligation for the recipient to repay the favour in the future. This creates a cycle of giving and receiving that helps to build strong relationships. It helps to establish trust between individuals.
Building a bank of favours
Having a network of people who owe you favours, or who you owe favours to, is like having a virtual bank of credit. You can draw from this bank when you need help, and in turn, others can draw from it when they need help.
This creates a supportive network of people who are willing to help each other without expectation of immediate return. This us especially valuable in professional settings, where having someone to vouch for you or help you secure a job can make all the difference.
Acting out of genuine kindness
It’s important to note that favours should be given and received with no expectation of immediate return. This is what makes favours the biggest currency in life. Giving a favour with the intention of using it as leverage for future gain, causes it to lose its value as a currency.
Favours should be given out of genuine kindness and a desire to help others. Doing favours with this attitude, ensures they are much more likely to be returned in kind.
While one shouldn’t do a favour with an expectation of return, it’s important to keep track of favours given and received. This doesn’t mean keeping a tally of every favour exchanged. Instead be mindful of the favours others have done for you and make a mental note of the favours you have done for others.
This way, when you need help in the future, you know who you can turn to.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that favours don’t have to be big acts of kindness. Small acts of kindness and help matter a great deal. Lending a hand when someone is in need or offering a listening ear when someone is going through a tough time, can have a large impact.
The important thing is to give and receive favours with a genuine desire to help and without expectation of immediate return.
The importance of community
Besides creating strong relationships and a support network, giving and receiving favours can also foster a sense of community.
When people work together to help each other, it creates a sense of belonging and camaraderie that can be hard to find in today’s fast-paced world. This sense of community can be especially valuable in personal life. It provides a network of support and a source of comfort during tough times.
Conclusion
The idea of favours being the biggest currency in life highlights the importance of building relationships. We need to create a network of people who are willing to help one another.
While it’s important to keep track of favours, the most valuable aspect of this currency is the relationships that are built and the trust that is established.
Having a network of people who owe you favours or who you owe favours to can provide a source of support and opportunity in both personal and professional life. So, let’s make sure to build up our “bank”
