We love to help the teachers carry books to the staff room. We ask our Mum whether they need help with something. We learn to hold the door for the one behind, raise our hands to ask questions, talk to someone who seems to be alone, etc. The ability to do all that and make someone’s day is benefit enough for us to get started.
But at some point in our lives we think others’ are taking too much from us, or that we don’t get repaid for what we do, or we are even abused for what we did. Maybe because we did it badly, maybe we weren’t chosen to do it, or people laughed at us. We lost the joy that came from within when we took initiative, we found that emotional labour bothersome.
We rather be doing things for ourselves and staying out of the entanglement with others. Yet there is tension, because we are social creatures. Because we actually thrive when we are proactive and when we take initiative. So to thrive we really have to find back that joy and seek the initiative.