Is everything an Exchange?

One Family Theory is the Exchange theory. This refers to the tendency for people to do things so they get things. Instead of selfless acts, theorists classify behavior by asking the question, "what did that person think they were going to get out of it?" This makes loads of sense to me because I have found myself doing just that. While I thought more, I began to realize that I don't like that about myself. I shouldn't do things because I have a selfish motive behind them. I should doing things for the right reason... but then I realized that by doing things for the right reason I am still getting something I want out of it and that is self-satisfaction. Knowing that I am doing good things and that the Lord is pleased with what I am doing is a reward in a sense, I am getting positive feedback. So then I thought, Is anything truly selfless? what about The Savior? He was a selfless man. He died on the cross because that was his mission and because he loved us. It is said that the Atonement is the most selfless act ever made but did Christ get something he wanted? I would say yes. The Savior wanted us to live with our Father in Heaven again. His desires were righteous and I don't want anyone to think that I am discrediting the Savior and His intentions because he was perfect and full of integrity. But I am asking if Jesus received positive feedback for the action of the atonement and did he know that those would be the consequences.  I would venture to say yes. Jesus knew all and had a perfect knowledge just as His Father did. They were one in desire and because of that Jesus understood the positive consequences that the atonement had. Christ could receive that positive feedback of completing the plan and allowing his brothers and sisters to gain eternal life. So is everything an exchange? yeah. 

Another part of the exchange theory is that when we don't receive want we want from another person we stop our exchange with them. I am afraid that this week I am guilty of this. One of my good friends has started to not pay attention to my feelings and seems to not care when I say something. When I started getting annoyed, I began to act just as she did which in return has most likely elevated the lower levels of "exchange". Our relationship has entered a circular causality where our actions are feeding the action that neither of us want. So starting today, I am going to start exchanging again as normal and see what happens. I would hate to see our friendship end because I didn't do anything while I fully understood what was happening. This will be a fun experiment. :) We will see how she responds to the exchange as well.