Doing Nice Things for People

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by Crito, May 11, 2007.

  1. Crito

    Crito Banned

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    Sometimes I feel like no good deed goes unpunished. Everytme I do something NICE for someone it comes back and bites me. Examples:

    There was this girl at my last assignment who was "leaving" her DBA role to go work for Volt. So after she left management started blamming her for screwing eveything up. I, like an idiot, came to her defense, probably hurting MY prospects there in the process. Now this witch won't even return an email. That'll teach me; I should have bad-mouthed her for my own personal gain when I had the chance.

    Or working like a dog six days a week at Atos Origin and then having some lazy bum manager say I'm not a team player. Gee, how come none of the other team players came in to work 8 hours every Saturday? Oh yeah, because they were playing golf at the country club with the boss. That taught me again; I now refuse to work overtime unless I'm getting paid overtime.

    Another example: I sold a car to a poor woman attending the university for $1 whole US dollar. She needed to use it immediately to move into student housing, so I left the plates on the vehicle. What does she do? She parks the car anywhere she pleases, fire lanes, handicaped spots, wherever. A month later I'm getting $100 tickets in the mail. :x

    I swear, as much of an arsehole as some people say I am, I can't think of a single time when I was rewarded for doing a good deed. Not saying I need a reward to do a good deed, but being constantly punished for them is very discouraging.
     
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  2. tripwire45
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    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    As far as the car goes, it was nice of you to sell this poor woman the car but you should have been completely legal about the process, completely ending your relationship to the car and giving her full responsibility for her poor parking decisions.

    Sure, it seems there are times when no good deed goes unpunished, but on the other hand, could you look at your reflection in the mirror every morninjg if you acted like every other @zzh013 in the world? Also, if you're a person of faith, then you know that rewards for good deeds and a righteous life are waiting down the road, so to speak.
     
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  3. Crito

    Crito Banned

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    Yeah, I can't argue about the "looking in the mirror and living with yourself" part. You don't have to be a person of faith to understand that. Still, rewards in this life would encourage a lot more people to do the right thing, IMHO.
     
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  4. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    1. Any person leaving a company will always be blamed for everything that went wrong - even stuff that happens after they leave. It's easier that way, as we don't have to look for real problems.

    2. A lazy bum manager will always have to put you down for something to show that he's better than you. It is a lot easier than actually working hard to *be* better than you.

    3. Fair enough, you are a mug. :biggrin

    But don't you feel like a better person?
    When I drive to work in the morning, I make a point of letting traffic pull out from turnings etc. I'm not after any rewards and I don't really care if they wave or not.
    But I feel that I've done something to help someone.

    On times where I have edged up to the car in front to stop someone pulling out, I've always felt really guilty for being such a prat. Doesn't get me where I'm going any faster.
     
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  5. tripwire45
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    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    If people only did the right thing when they got a "scooby snack" immediately afterwards, then they didn't do the right thing for the right reason.
     
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  6. Headache

    Headache Gigabyte Poster

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    The thing I've learnt about life is that it doesn't pay to be nice to people all the time, because those same people tend to take you for granted because of it. Which doesn't mean that one should be mean and evil all the time either. The secret is to find some sort of happy medium between the two. Mister Niceguy today, total sh!thead tommorow.

    Works for me.
     
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  7. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    = Mr unpredictable :biggrin
     
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  8. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    When I used to train management skills - the philosophy was to go in hard and scare people. They would see you as someone to be reckoned with.

    Then you relax a bit and let them see that you are also an OK guy.

    It doesn't work the other way round. If you are a 'nice' person who suddenly becomes evil, people will just think you are a t0sser.

    See the story of the Emperor and the Grand Vizier...
     
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