Be selfish to be selfless

Be selfish to be selfless. Aren’t both the words the antonyms of each other? What is this guy on?

Even though the statement looks contradictory, looking at it on a deeper level reveals the exquisite intuitiveness it possesses. That is the purpose of this post, to look at the statement on a deeper level and express my views on it.

Although one might suggest that being a selfless person is the ultimate goal, I would argue that one cannot be a selfless person without being selfish first. In short I would say it means that the more you know yourself, the more you can give.

Every individual is unique, no other person in the world will share the exact same interests or do things the exact same way. In your journey of understanding yourself, it is required of you to be true to yourself.

When you are true to yourself, you are being true to the rest of the world. Being true to yourself is the best thing a person can do as you are representing yourself to others as the true individual you are. People get to like you or dislike you for your true self.

Being selfish here means that you remain true to yourself and do the things that help you learn about yourself. Once you understand yourself, you start understanding what you have that you can provide and allow you to be truly selfless.

The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.
- Wilhelm Stekel

I also believe that being truly selfless requires a person to find their own happiness first before helping others find their happiness. Unless you are truly happy, you will give only with an expectation of something in return that makes you happy and this makes your selfless act into a selfish act.

Therefore one must look to fill their life with happiness first before they can help fill happiness in other people’s lives.

To be truly selfless, one must be able to give without any expectations. It is the expectations that kill true selflessness. Being selfish is the path to true selflessness.

Until next time, be a little selfish to be a lot more selfless.