Welcome back to Mid-Week Meditations, Lifehacker's weekly dip into the pool of stoic wisdom and a guide to using the waters to reflect on and improve your life.

This week's selection comes from Marcus Aurelius, in Meditations, book seven. Far into the book, in paragraph 73, he rebukes those who want or expect more when they have done a good deed:

There are only two things that matter when it comes to doing good to others: you who do the good deed, and someone else who benefits from that good deed. It is foolish to expect a third thing, such as thanks, credit, or favor in return.

There is an unfortunate, somewhat selfish mentality that we have adopted in our modern minds. Whenever we do an action, good, bad, or somewhere in between, we put our hand out and say, "What do I get for it?" Put your hand away!