Hey there aavy,

Definitely agree that the rule doesn’t apply perfectly into all situations! It can definitely blind you to the threat of people who are looking to take advantage of your kindness.

I think my message was that you should always start with yourself before expecting something from friends. You should always be the one who does the best that you can to embody a great friend, which will allow you to reasonably expect the same or at least similar behavior from your friends.

(Though I can see that this might be seen as too reciprocal of a relationship, since one friend can end up unknowingly taking advantage of the other friend’s gifts + favors and never really give back)

Overall, I think you brought up a great point — this is a nuance of the rule that needs to be understood in order for people to not be taken advantage of. Thanks for sharing!