Quote Originally Posted by Weedhound
I think what I'm talking about is the energy expended. I do things....say....assist someone on cdot....becasue it does something for me. So all that lovely chatter about helping mankind really is just that.......bullshit
I don't believe so. If you've ever seen a beautiful mind, and I hate using a movie reference for an in depth topic like this but it truely fits, there is a part where Nash is at a bar with his buddies and they are all eyeballing this girl. It was at that point he conceptualized that "what's best for the individual is best for the group". Meaning that if every one of them went for the girl she would turn them all down, but if they all went for other girls they would get what THEY WANT, and in turn the entire group would benefit.

The same holds true for just about anything. Yes you may be helping someone on here because it does something for you, but at the same time you are helping them. In that sense you are helping each other.. and all that lovely chatter about helping mankind is not bullshit, because by helping yourself.. you can help other people. :thumbsup:

But action takes energy.......where does this energy come from? What makes you expend energy in one direction vs another? Is it the rewards that you get immediately? The thought of a future reward perhaps? Or do you really run around and expend energy because you simply aren't dead yet? And because you aren't dead yet doesn't explain your choices either.

Ps....If that was the best I felt I had......"I'm not dead yet"........I'd be dead.
Well the answer to your question is different for every person. There's no clear cut reason. I struggled with this myself. Initially I would do things in what I thought was from the goodness of my heart and would always end up disappointed by the other person. Eventually I realized I was doing things because I expected an outcome from the other person. To be honest this really isn't bad except that it will lead to countless disappointment, heartache and other things.

Now I do things because I want to. If I get a reward or something back from it I will GLADLY take it; however if I don't get the response I was expecting or the favor reciprocated or anything along those lines I really don't care. I let go of having expectations and FOR ME that was the best thing I could have ever done and taught me so much more about myself. I realized recently that I really didnt know myself.