INTERNET GRANDFATHER®

BEING HELPFUL

                            [This is short because the internet grandfather is on vacation and working on a dial-up connection. I'll be back next week with a normal column, followed by another vacation. (The life of the internet grandfather is getting better.)]

                                    I saw a Dilbert cartoon where the boss asks his employee to be his "body double" in case anyone wants the boss to be helpful. Although Dilbert is satire, there's some truth in the notion of fear of being helpful. A lot of us hide when someone might ask his to help. It's from fear of making things worse, of proving inadequate, from laziness, from avoidance of distraction in a busy time. But avoiding helping others is short-sighted.

                                      As I've urged before, helping others helps us. In every situation, when we help others we make our lives better. This is because we all benefit when the people around us are happy and productive.  Having those around us unhappy is distracting and slows us down, whether in work, home, family or recreational activities.

                                       I saw a concrete example of this while on vacation. Someone playing golf nearby was angry about his game and his fellow competitors tried to ignore him. Soon their games suffered as well. If they had tried to help him, even if only by soothing his feelings, everyone would have been better off.

                                         Be helpful whenever you can. It will make your life better, if only because you'll feel better about yourself.

4-21-03