A little Reciprocity goes a long way.
Malcolm S. Forbes
The word 'Reciprocity' seems strange at first, and very familiar in a way because for me, it's fellow word Reciprocal is more commonly used.
What is Reciprocity?
In my own terms, i would say
It is an act where two or more persons or parties gain from each other in other word, when someone does a favour for you, as human we feel obligated to return the favour.
In an instance, there was a time I worked at a phone and accessories store, at a very busy location, one problem we normally encounter is giving change/balance to customers after selling our products, , sometimes we run out of change (smaller denomination currency), because I normally help a neighbour of mine whenever she runs out of hers, she feels obligated to help me when I run out of my change. An event that stood out that made me understand reciprocity, there was a time I came to her for change as usual she was quick to give me, then my other neighbour who I met at her store was denied of change, he got angry at the woman that he asked first, she was quick to defend herself that if she runs out of hers , i was the only one who often helps her in time of her needs while the man likes keeping his, he most times refuses to help even when he has. You see, that's the power of reciprocity.
But does it really works most times like this? Not really, growing up in a Christian home, we were always taught to give and not expect to receive in return because when we wait for instant reward, we miss a bigger reward from the creator. The training we were given could be aligned with the greater rewards comes when we least expect it and in dire need then our render of good service or help get reciprocated right then , for instance, there was a viral story od a woman who fried bean cake (akara) around a university campus area, and likes giving her bean cake to some of the students for free, especially when they were hungry and have run out of foodstuffs and feeding allowances, she even gave them little cash sometimes, not tgat she was rich, she just had the mind of giving, many years later, her son also graduated bit couldn't secure a job on time, he tried his luck in one of the biggest firm in the country, luvkily for him, among the board of directors conducting the interview, was one of the boy whom his mother had helped, as He was one of the big boss in the company, to cut the long story short, immediately, the woman's son got employed with a bigger pay and other advantages and his poor mother was visited with gifts of appreciation for being a giver while he was still young.
The feeling of being reciprocated when we least expect is overwhelming and more exciting and it even encourages us to do more good without expecting in return therefore the society becomes a better place by giving to the poor, less privileged, homeless, orphans, widow or any body that needs our help and we have the ability to help at that point in time. Do you know you get a satisfying feeling, when you see people happy because you rendered an assistance to them. Can we then tag that as being reciprocal? You can let me know what you feel in the comment section. For me, i think it's reciprocal in a way. Also, when we give to our immediate family members, like our father, mother or siblings, we don't usually expect something in return.
Although this doesn't work in most context. For example, in certain types of relationships, marriage for instance, mutual benefits is much needed for it to work out, both couples are expected to love, respect, care and help each other as they have been termed to be one together, but when it becomes a one sided thing that only person do the giving and not receiving or vice versa, there won't be peace in such home. So Reciprocity is an integral part of a romantic relationship, either courtship or marriage.
Reciprocrity can be if two types
- Negative
- Positive
Negative reciprocity is when we offer little things and expecting something bigger in return, an example of this is among marketers, they often gift little freebies for us to buy something much more expensive from them.
2 Positve Reciprocity is giving generously and receiving quite generously too, i think this is quite self explanatory, in the end, the both parties feel contented with each other.
Giving should always be our way of life, wether we get rewarded instantly or not, there is always a reward, also in romantic relationship, reciprocity is a must.
This post is in response to a challenge by 
Thanks for reading❤❤