Giving Without Keeping Score
Originally shared July 24, 2025 in the Naked Sunday Newsletter. Adapted for the journal.
I’ve been thinking a lot about giving lately.
And more specifically, how easy it is to forget the power of giving when we get too focused on what we’re trying to get.
Every time I’ve found myself plateauing, whether in business, relationships, or just feeling disconnected from my purpose, it’s almost always because I’ve lost sight of what I have to offer to others. I get caught in the trap of measuring outcomes instead of living in service. Of chasing instead of creating. Of expecting instead of giving.
There’s a difference between giving to give and giving to get.
Most people give with an expectation attached.
They want recognition. They want reciprocation.
And it turns the whole relationship into a transaction.
That’s not love. That’s a power play.
It’s about control, keeping score, and conditional worth.
It creates anxiety, obligation, and ultimately… disconnection.
But real giving?
Unconditional giving?
It opens the door to something deeper.
When you give from love, you start receiving from love.
Without strings. Without pressure. Without pretending.
I heard someone once say:
“When you’re in service of others, your ego can’t get in the way.”
That’s the truth.
And when I’m in that space, I feel most like myself.
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Until next time…
Love. Every. Body.
