What category does Pay It Forward belong to?

Pay It Forward belongs to the "Principles" category in personal knowledge management and productivity.

What are the key topics related to Pay It Forward?

Key topics related to Pay It Forward include: helping, gratitude, reciprocity, community, generosity.

What are alternative names for Pay It Forward?

Pay It Forward is also known as: Pass it on, Chain of kindness.

Pay It Forward

When someone helps you, you help someone else in return rather than repaying the original helper.

Also known as: Pass it on, Chain of kindness

Category: Principles

Tags: helping, gratitude, reciprocity, community, generosity

Explanation

Pay It Forward is the concept that when someone helps you, instead of paying them back directly, you help someone else. It's like asymmetric reciprocity - the kindness flows forward rather than back. This creates a chain of generosity that can spread through communities and societies. The concept was popularized by the movie and book of the same name. In knowledge work and PKM communities, paying it forward manifests as sharing knowledge freely, mentoring others, and contributing to open resources that help future learners.

Related Concepts

Helper's High
Reciprocity
Social Capital

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