Are All Relationships Transactional?

There are no shortage of challenges in our day to day lives. Many people have found different ways to cope with these challenges. One of the most common ways is through people connection. People connections can be a great gateway to solving many personal hurdles.
However, many people create connections, friendship, and marriages through the expectation of giving and expecting something in return.
This begs the questions whether most people are using others for self-gain?

Questions to ponder:

• Do you feel like you've been used by people?
• What does "transactional" mean to you?
• Is it wrong to view relationships as transactional?
• Is there a difference between a transactional relationship and a healthy, interdependent one?
• What are you "exchanging" in your relationships?
• Is unconditional love possible? Or is love contingent on the other person meeting certain needs or expectations?
• How can you turn a one-way relationships into a healthy one? Is making it transactional the correct answer?
• Do you see most people as kind or self-interested?
• Do you see how women view men as providers transactional?
• Do you see how men view women as caretakers transactional?

Guidelines:

• Hand raises are required.
• There will be a 3 minute timer for every person. However, in this group, I do allow a brief back and fourth interjection from others if it's something that's related to the person who was just speaking. This is a way to prevent the group from feeling too "robotic" in style and get your pressing question asked to the speaker and get the answer right away without waiting all the way back to your turn again.
• Be authentic & civil!
• Please refrain from using Ad Hominem (personal) attacks. This includes in voice, in meeting chat, and in the comments section below. Instead, please attack the points from others. Severe Ad Hominem such as racist behavior will result in being removed from the meeting.
• Zoom link is posted well before the day of the meeting but you will not be able to join until 10 minutes before the meeting start time.