What’s in it for me?

It’s the soundtrack of our modern lives.

When your sibling asks for a ride to the airport at 5 a.m. When you spend half your Saturday folding laundry that isn’t even yours. When you spend 2 years extra on a project to create something timeless for a city you don't even live in. When you give someone the benefit of the doubt.

You hear it: "What’s in it for me?"

But the moments that stick with you, the ones you come back to years later, rarely have anything obvious in them for you. There is no immediate payoff. Like the compliment you gave your friend about their new project. They didn’t say much at the time, but it was the push they needed to keep going.

“What’s in it for me?” feels logical. Practical.But it’s also a trap.

Because the moments that actually mean something? They come when you stop keeping score.

The ride, the laundry, the patience is not about the task. It’s about the person.And sometimes, the real payoff isn’t what you get.

It’s who you become.