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Be Prepared For Complaints
Today's e-mail is sponsored by Michael & Adriane Kreisberg
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Info@...The author wishes to remain anonymous
Edited by Shmuel Greenbaum
Printed with Permission of http://www.PartnersInKindness.org
Although we have an 80% poverty rate in the school I teach at and many children come from sad home situations, our school is a dream to work at! What makes it so special is our loving staff that makes a committed effort to give our students what they need academically and emotionally. Kids go out of their way every do to do kind acts and delight in keeping our building violence free.
One teacher saw a mother constantly belittle her daughter — she never combed her daughter’s hair or put bows in it that had been given to her and she dressed her daughter in shabby clothing even though she had been given clothes for gifts
One day, when the girl’s dad came to pick up his daughter, the teacher asked permission to take the first grader to her house of worship with her and asked the dad "oh, by the way could I have her as my guest for dinner?" and "oh, by the way I have to go shopping and get my hair cut would it be O.K. for her to go with me?"
Dad gave permission! So off the little girl went with her and had her hair styled, went shopping for a new dress and shoes, had dinner at the teachers' house then went to worship. I wish everyone could have seen the little girl the next day! She just beamed; walked taller; interacted with her peers more confidently and worked harder at her school work. Mom was upset, but the boost for the little girl was truly worth it. This "glow" lasted all year!
The staff at our school does these kinds of things all the time. The family of one our students had to move because their place was condemned. They were having trouble finding a place because they had so many kids. A teacher on our staff convinced her house of worship to allow this family to live in a house they owned. Staff went in and painted the whole house, donated furniture, bedding, and food so that this family had a true home to live in.
Another teacher tutored a student (not one of her own) four times a week all summer long — free of charge — because he was struggling in reading.
Needless to say I'm a lucky person to work with such wonderful people.
Be Prepared For Complaints
From Kindness: Making a Difference in People's Lives: Formulas, stories, and insights
By Zelig Pliskin
Printed with Permission of Shaar Press
One of my students told me:
I can’t believe it. Before I was devoted to helping others, very few people had complaints against me. It seems that the more I do for others, the more that people are upset with me. Those I help, complain, "Why aren’t you doing more?" Those I am unable to help complain, "How come you help other people and not me?" Those who are angry with me for various reasons tell me, "You feel that just because you help people you don’t have to live up to other obligations."
When you devote your life to helping others, you are likely to arouse envy, animosity, and resentment. The needs of the people you help can be so great that they will be angry you aren’t helping them even more than you are. Your energy, time, and other resources are limited, so those you don’t help might feel resentful that you do more for others than you do for them.
Some people will be envious of the good you do. In order to feel better about themselves, they will find it easier to put you down than to do more themselves. They are likely to challenge your motivations when they say things like:
• "He only helps others because of his overblown ego."
• "She only helps those whom she feels will help her."
• "He wants to get ahead politically so he does favors for others."
• "She only does kindness because she is compensating for feelings of inferiority."
Even if it isn’t true, cynical or envious people are likely to make these claims. Someone with mixed motives -- he wants to help others and he does enjoy honor -- is likely to feel more hurt about this than someone whose motivations are pure. But anyone who has a sensitive nature can feel hurt.
Being criticized is part of the price one pays for helping others. This elevates you: You are willing to personally suffer in order to do acts of kindness for others. Acknowledge the truth of a complaint and it will be easier to tolerate.
• "Yes. I should do a lot more than I am doing. I’m sorry that I’m limited."
• "I acknowledge that I am only doing a drop in the bucket of what needs to be done."
• "I agree that it would be wonderful if I were doing more than I am."
• "Yes. I am inconsistent. But I feel it’s better to continue doing the good that I’m doing than to consistently do nothing for others."
One of my students explained:
I remember how shocked I was when someone whom I’ve helped greatly told me off in great anger, "You aren’t there for me enough when I really need you. O.K., so you did help me before but what about lately!"
After this I heard about being prepared for such occurrences. The next time someone I had helped attacked me for not doing enough for them, I was mentally ready to answer with true compassion, "I’m sorry for not being there when you needed me. I see how much you’ve suffered. It’s really rough."
The amazing thing is that when I said this with sincere concern, the person’s anger subsided and I received an apology. My response was, "That’s all right. I understand the pressure you were under." We parted with good feelings.
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