Helping People

[Giggles]

Just a few minutes ago, a girl IMed me and asked me for advice about the boyfriend she just broke up with. A girl I've never met in my life, who saw my name in the Exes Are Sux community at livejournal.com.

I feel awesome when I help people, and it makes me feel like I've actually got something to do with my life.

Do you help people? Does it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Why wouldn't you help someone? etcetc.

Discuss helping people. I guess.

[The Captain]

It's certainly a good thing, I highly recommend it. So long as you can help someone else without damaging yourself, I don't see any sort of drawbacks.

Take care all.

[Shlup]

People don't help people, guns help people.

...

*moody*

[Yamaneko]

Helping someone is only good if you don't expect anything in return, otherwise it shouldn't make you feel good.

[Giggles]

I agree, but what if you help someone expecting to feel good afterwards? Do you think it'd still make you feel good?

[Yamaneko]

If your planned outcome by helping someone is to feel good, then I don't think you should feel good about that. A virtuous person would help or advice another person in it of itself, expecting no particular outcome.

[Meat Puppet]

I love helping people, it's just be cool if people helped me once in a while.

[Rainecloud]

Performing small and pointless tasks for others (IE - holding a door open for someone) makes me happy.

I don't really help people that often, due to the fact that everyone in England seems to like to do everything on their own. We're a very private, stubborn country, and not at all like other European countries who seem to be much more friendly, open and willing to accept assistance when necessary.

[SeeDRankLou]

I like helping people. It makes me feel good that I can better someone's life simply by giving them advice about about what they can do. Something so little, but it does something so great. I actually did that today, good stuff.

[Cuchullain]

You've got that partially right Rainecloud. We're stubborn. Although, listening to someone talk about how the death of the goldfish they bought last week has ruined their life for about 16 hours is something that's happened.

I'm trying to give up helping people. I'll be polite and hold doors open, but at one time I was being called/IMd/e-mailed/stopped in the street by up to 30 people A WEEK asking me for advice. I took to cutting myself a few years ago for stress relief, and one time I was helping someone over IM (talking to my then gf at the same time; had to tell her I'd be back as soon as I'd finished) I must've knicked a blood vessel. Since then and numerous suicide attempts later, I've told myself I'll help a couple of people when they NEED my help, but at no other times. I think since January I've had to deal with.... 400 problems from people, and that's too much.

[Loony BoB]

So long as you're helping them. Some people might think that they're helping by convincing them that their ex sucks, and that might not be what that person really needs.

I love helping people.

[escobert]

Do you help people?I try to Does it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?I guess Why wouldn't you help someone? If I don't know how I can help them or if I'm not in a good mood.

[Xander]

Yes, I like helping people. Sometimes it just makes me feel like I can make a difference or like I can make somebody happy.

If the only reason you help someone is to gain something from it then you shouldn't feel good, I guess. But if you see a situation and think, I could help that person, so I will, and then you feel good afterwards there's nothing wrong with that. It's just natural.

Everyone likes compliments and in the same way we like to feel thanked for our help. And I'm sure someone like eternalshiva would know what I meant by that.

[m4tt]

Yeah helping people is cool. Last night there was this guy hanging from a building, so I climbed up and brought him down to the ground safely. Oh, and this lady got her car stolen, so I chased after the car. I jumped off the roof of a building onto the hood of the car and punched the car a lot until the guys got out. Then I beat them up and the lady got her car back.

[Rye]

Yeah helping people is cool. Last night there was this guy hanging from a building, so I climbed up and brought him down to the ground safely. Oh, and this lady got her car stolen, so I chased after the car. I jumped off the roof of a building onto the hood of the car and punched the car a lot until the guys got out. Then I beat them up and the lady got her car back.

Spider-man 2? xD

[fire_of_avalon]

EXCEPT HER CAR WAS FULL OF DENTS FROM YOU PUNCHING IT AND IT EXPLODED LATER.

Bad Gau.

[Jebus]

It's certainly a good thing, I highly recommend it. So long as you can help someone else without damaging yourself, I don't see any sort of drawbacks.

Take care all.


There's nothing wrong with damaging yourself to help someone.

Anyway. Helping people feels great. One of the best feelings there is. Even if I only helped in a small way.

[Giggles]

So long as you're helping them. Some people might think that they're helping by convincing them that their ex sucks, and that might not be what that person really needs.

I didn't tell her that her ex sucks. I told her how to make it easier for both of them, the best way I knew.

[Logan]

I suck at helping people. I usually just make it worse.

[Cz]

If your planned outcome by helping someone is to feel good, then I don't think you should feel good about that. A virtuous person would help or advice another person in it of itself, expecting no particular outcome.

I help people partly because it makes me feel better about myself. There's nothing wrong with that at all. Perhaps it's not the best reason for doing so, but they still benefit from it.

[Baloki]

I hate helping people, I'm always nervious if it worked out alright and if my help was good enough and so on, yet I'm a sucker and go out of my way to help people, maybe I should kill myself, stop me getting it wrong and feeling, really, really, really, stupid.....

[SomethingBig]

I like to help people. It makes me feel nice inside.

By the way, how do you join LJ communities? I have an account, I just don't know how to join them.

[-N-]

I don't really feel anything towards helping other people (random people online, for example). I just do it. Call it karma, and none of that Westernized bullshit karma either. Real karma.

It seems strange to get rewarded for doing something you're supposed to do.

As for my friends, I always try to be there for them.

[DMKA]

Yes, I love helping others, though I don't get to as much as I'd like...hell, its rare that the opportunity comes along.

I hope one day I'll be able to help lots of people.

[Del Murder]

I'll help someone if I don't have to do anything.

[eestlinc]

you can help me in fantasy baseball by not editing your lineup for the rest of the season.

[Mr. Graves]

If your planned outcome by helping someone is to feel good, then I don't think you should feel good about that. A virtuous person would help or advice another person in it of itself, expecting no particular outcome.

I definitely agree.

It's good to help others. Just don't do for some sort of 'payback'.

[DMKA]

It's good to help others. Just don't do for some sort of 'payback'.
I always thought helping others was rewarding in itself....:(

[Mr. Graves]

Yeah. Just don't expect anything material and it's all good.

[Giga Guess]

Exactly.

I am the eternal Good Somaritan. I will go out of my way to help someone out, or at least cheer 'em up.

Self detrimental good deeds are okay. However, a person does owe it to oneself to think of oneself occasionally. Gotta strike a balance.

[Denmark]

I suck at helping people. I usually just make it worse.

*agree*

and no one ever asks for my help, either. :O