Needs, Not Wants

Service can be so touchy if we go into it thinking about how excited *we* are about doing our pet service activity. We can invest too much in the planning and ownership of that activity, so that it becomes all about us instead of all about truly meeting the needs of those we claim to wish to serve. We get offended and think that others just be grateful for our help. We need always to keep our focus away from what we think would be best and on those we are serving and what they really would want to receive rather than what we want to give. Otherwise, we are really only serving ourselves.

[via The Common Room, emphasis mine]