Guys, I don't really like the idea of "doing good deeds so that someday other people will do good to you" Do something good because you really want to, because that's the best way to live, not because you hope for the same good thing will bounce back to you later. If you are religious, do good because you hope for your God's blessing. He might reward you in this life, and He might not.
And sometimes we fall into the trap of arrogance without even realizing it. When something good happens to us we'd think "this is happening because I've been a good person". That thought can bring hazard to our faith, to it goes deep down to our conscience, the roots of our imaan.
We all know our God is The Most Loving. He'll take care of His Creature no matter what. Because HE.IS.THAT.GOOD. That's why you see so many disbelievers thrive in life while many of believer counterparts suffer. Do you remember Firaun the pharaoh? He killed so many babies, remember? Yet he was a very wealthy man,wasn't he? How come did God give him all that pleasure then? And also, if you do something good for the sake of hoping to turn your life better, you'll only get what you asked for. All of our deeds are defined by our intention. When you feed someone hoping that later someone will feed you back, guess what, a good deed that potentially has so much more reward than merely a worldly ease would go to waste. As we all believe (or at least try to), our life in this world is temporary and way too insignificant when compared to the afterlife.
Whenever you want to do something please remember to set your intention straight. The first hadith from Hadith Arba'in declared it pretty clearly: Deeds are by intentions إنما الأعمال بالنيات
Umar ibn al-Khattab reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوِ امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ
Verily, deeds are only with intentions. Verily, every person will have only what they intended. Whoever emigrated to Allah and his messenger, his emigration is for Allah and his messenger. Whoever emigrated to get something in the world or to marry a woman, his emigration is for that to which he emigrated.
(Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 54)
So with the right intention in mind you will hopefully get to learn to love people unconditionally. Even when you're being nice to people whereas they don't seem to return your favor, you wouldn't be so salty anymore.
Because you don't expect anything in return. You will not get as disappointed when the world isn't rotating around you. Cause spoiler alert, it isn't. It will never be. By doing that you give yourself a huge power to get through any difficulty: to allow yourself no longer be dragged down by the behaviour of people around you. Everything that happens in the universe starts to taste sweet. The times when dark clouds devour you and it seems the skies will never clear when the sun beams, while the rain falls, it can bring a bittersweet rainbow.
I like to think of it this way: I see myself as a lover to God. Have you ever been in love? Now tell me, what would you do if you love someone? You'll try to get their attention and to get to know them right? You'll figure out what they like and don't like, and do everything to make them happy. Even if previously you don't really pay attention for something, you'll do it still, just because you wouldn't mind it. Imagine this: you have a fit girlfriend that loves to go to the gym. You are actually not a fan of the gym but you'll try to go there with her, because you know, you hope that your girlfriend is happy that you take her passion as a consideration eventhough you don't intend to gain muscle or somewhat. It will make her appreciate you more. Whether you end up so fit or not is not a part of the equation. Cause she will appreciate your sincere effort to love what she does. And God is that kind of perfect dream-lover we all wish for. He is الشَّكُورُ, The Most Appreciative. The One Who gives abundantly in return for what was little. He is the One Who is the Most Appreciative because He appreciates even the smallest of deeds, all the time. And His appreciation is unlimited.
On the contrary, there's no way we can struggle for the sake of Him the way He deserves it. Heck, we couldn't even count our blessings from Him, let alone struggling. How could we think that our good deeds are what makes our life easier? Do we really think whatever we did before is good enough that what makes God return the favor? Honey, it probably wasn't.
Let's be real, we will never be a perfect lover. In fact, we could never even imagine the lengths we have to go through to even out God's blessing. That must not trap you in despair though, just remember that He is also الْوَدُودُ, The Most Loving. The One Who is the source of all love and affection. His Love is intense, constant and ever lasting. Al-Wadood is the One Who is deserving of all love and affection! Al-Wadood loves the believers more than anything we can think of.
He is العَفُوُّ, The Pardoner. The One who eliminates sins and faults. He is the One who not only forgives sins, but can completely blot out and make any mistake, error or sin disappear whenever He wishes.
He is الرَّؤُوفُ, The Most Kind. The One who bestows utmost tender mercy on the creation. He is the One whose compassion, affection, kindness and tenderness are beyond understanding.
Do not be sad and despair, because he never expects us to be perfect. He never said that.
We only need to try our best.
But you know, there's always that feeling that lingers in ourself saying that we could've done it better. It could always have been better. But that's not the point.
The point is to try our best.
Don't hesitate to aim high and strive for excellence. As Norman Vincent Pale once said:
Okay this quote may not be super accurate because theoretically the moon is so much closer to earth than any stars, but I'll spare that for astronomy lesson.
Here is a quote from a Rainer Maria Rilke's poem titled The Man Watching:
When we win it's with small things,
And the triumph itself makes us feel small
Winning does not temp that man,
This is how he grows, being defeated, decisively,
By constantly greater beings
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you'll land among the stars."
Okay this quote may not be super accurate because theoretically the moon is so much closer to earth than any stars, but I'll spare that for astronomy lesson.
Here is a quote from a Rainer Maria Rilke's poem titled The Man Watching:
When we win it's with small things,
And the triumph itself makes us feel small
Winning does not temp that man,
This is how he grows, being defeated, decisively,
By constantly greater beings