Selfishly Selfless

St Kilda Beach, Melbourne, Australia

On the flight of life we know that kindness toward others makes our journey more enjoyable, yet there seems to be some confusion around selfishness and selflessness.

Selflessness is the new black.  Everyone’s jumping on the charity band wagon these days because of a wonderful appreciation for altruism.  But sometimes in relationships when we sacrifice our own needs to help someone out we can be reactive and only end up making matters worse.  These situations often end with “I was only trying to help!”.   If we haven’t looked after ourselves first, are we really in the best condition to be assisting others? 

What of selfishness?  There are scientific theories on evolution based on the belief that all living things are competing with each other and therefore we must be selfish to survive, but these theories are based on physical survival only.  People who live unethically might “appear” to have survived, but it is impossible for someone who is ruthlessly selfish to be truly happy and we have proven time and time again that happiness can increase not only quality, but longevity of life.  

Rather than look at selfishness and selflessness as opposing, why not fuse them together so that they complement each other?   If selfishness is putting our desires first with total disregard for other people, then surely if we put our needs first, coupled with the intention of being in the best possible condition to help others, we’re not being selfish.  We’re being selfishly selfless.  Airhostesses have been trying to tell us all along: “Secure your own mask before assisting others”.

If you would like to support the cause you can recommend this page below or donate here:http://www.everydayhero.com.au/sarah_walton_6