Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Being nice - investment or humanity?

This question has been nagging me for the past coupla days now. And no matter how much I ponder, I can't figure out the answer. Is being nice an investment or an act of humanity? When did being nice become an investment from the plain old "being nice"? And are all of us being nice only for a selfish motive at the end of the day?

I myself know that sometimes, I treat people nicely for some unseen time when I might need their favor. Its selfish and maybe even mean. But most of the times I am a nice pleasant person, who without any ulterior motive likes to put a smile on people's faces. No questions asked.

But recently, I discovered that sometimes, people refrain from doing that simple unselfish task of niceness, because there are low returns at the end of it. Is this right? I am confused, because if you look at it this way - they are at least not fooling a person to believe something which does not exist. They are being forthright & honest about their feelings. On the other hand, sometimes maybe its better to keep a person in dark rather than have them know the harsh truth, which can only hurt them.

And I kept asking myself, is it right to keep a person in dark by making nice, or is it better to come clean and move on in life?

2 comments:

confundus said...

i think today no one can be down right self less... it is natural that u commit some selfish act or other ... but i personally try to keep my conscience clear and avoiud people i don't like...

Shruti said...

@confundus - i agree its almost impossible to be down right self less. But all my question is, has being nice become a mode of gaining profit in any whichever way??
I guess your strategy sounds practical enough...but even with that some days you are posed with a choice of being nice or not being nice, just for the heck of it and even for people you don't like...what do you do then?