Good intentions -- how much do they mean to you?

[Excited Penguin]

I, for one, never claim good intentions unless I actually mean them. The monster some people describe here, the person who keeps going with the same "good intentions" no matter the fact that a negative outcome keeps repeating itself, is a ridiculous caricature of something I've personally never even encountered in people. I have no idea where or even if any of you did, either.

And what Esq said ignores the fact that people can have bad intentions and know it. They might still think they're the heroes inside their own minds, and not feel guilty about it, but they will be perfectly able to differentiate between and have good and bad intentions. That is a fact. To think otherwise is simply naive. If I'm mad at someone and want to hurt them just as much as they hurt me, for example, I don't delude myself about what I'm doing. I know my intentions are not good, I just don't care about it because I think I'm justified. However if I want to help someone and I fail, that is a very, very different thing. Intentions do matter. If my intentions were good to begin with, it is very unlikely that I will continue doing what I was doing if I kept failing at it. No, instead I would either try something else or give up.

Not related to this, but I'm glad to say I've given up...